Expand Tsaayo Dispensary 

Improve medical care for the community

 

Tsaayo Dispensary is the busiest and most centrally located dispensary serving Arri Ward.  The dispensary is currently staffed by 1 doctor, 1 nurse, and 1 community worker. In 2022 they performed 458 pregnancy and 1027 pediatric checkups, administered 1897 vaccinations, performed 737 family planning visits, and responded to 550 outpatient visits. That’s ~390 visits per month. They also performed 23 births, but only mothers having their 2nd or later birth and births without complications are allowed in the dispensary.  As you can see, most of the visits are preventative. Those coming in sick are mostly treated for upper respiratory infections, gastrointestinal issues, skin diseases, or urinary tract infections. 

 

All the services are provided in a single building comprising a reception area, injection room, medication storage and dispensing room, examination room, dressing room, and staff room. Patients wait outside to be seen, rain or shine.  All patients, well and ill, are treated in the same small building, so all healthy clients e.g. those coming in for pre-labor checkups, laboring women, vaccinations, family planning…, are exposed to those who are sick and potentially infectious. In addition, all labs must be sent out delaying diagnosis and treatment as they have no local lab facility.

 

Karimu, in partnership with Tanzania Ministry of Health, has agreed to expand the Tsaayo Dispensary. The existing building will be remodeled and dedicated to outpatient visits. The new building will be used for maternity and well-client visits and will include a labor room, antenatal room, shower, laboratory, sterilization room, procedure room, and family planning room. The government will expand the staff to include more nurses and a laboratorist and will provide the needed furniture and equipment.  In addition, the government recently built new patient bathrooms including a disabled person’s bathroom, bathrooms for the staff, and a bathroom in the labor area specifically for pregnant women.

 

 

 

Benefits:

• Increased space and staffing levels to accommodate more patients

• Safer space for well-visits

• Improved facilities for birthing mothers

• Faster diagnosis and treatment with on-site labs

 

Cost: 

• Karimu cost : $37,463.47

• Community cost and/or contribution: Onsite patient and staff bathrooms, dispensary furniture and equipment, additional staff