Jointly saving lives

One particular moment left a deep impression on nurse Joseline Nuwamanya: shortly after completing a course in the care and resuscitation of newborns, she was confronted with an emergency at Lubaga Hospital in Kampala. “I applied the resuscitation techniques I had learnt - and the baby, which was already turning blue in the face, began breathing! I will never forget this feeling of pure joy.” 

Training courses that save lives

Joseline Nuwamanya wanted to pass her knowledge on to others and undertook training so that she could give courses in newborn life support (NLS) herself. Since 2021, she has trained around 300 nurses, midwives and doctors in Uganda. “It is wonderful when former course participants tell me that they have been able to save lives.”

Rates of newborn and infant mortality are high in Uganda, as is the number of deaths caused by infectious diseases or road traffic accidents. Many people could be saved if emergency medical care were improved - the Ugandan government is working to put the necessary structures in place but the system is not yet fully up and running. An important contribution is being made by the organisation AGNF (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Nofallmedizin Fürth) in Germany. 

Emergency care for injured people, newborns and children

AGNF organised the first courses in basic emergency care for hospital personnel in Uganda in 2019 and later added specialised courses in the emergency care of injured people, newborns and children. “Initially we offered the courses in cooperation with major hospitals,” says Laura Beutler, a paramedic responsible for international projects at AGNF. “Participants who did particularly well were able to do further training so as to be able to pass on their knowledge to medical staff at smaller facilities.” 

Considerable demand for training courses

She says that there was great interest in the courses: in the last two years alone, more than 500 medical professionals took part in courses, with around 100 completing a train-the-trainer course, as Joseline Nuwamanya did. 

The projects were made possible by the programme “Hospital Partnerships – Partners Strengthen Health”, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung and implemented by the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Since 2016, it has been supporting long-term partnerships between German organisations in the healthcare sector and public healthcare facilities in low- and middle-income countries. The partnerships contribute to improving healthcare provision in the countries in question. The Hospital Partnerships programme had provided funding for around 560 projects by the end of 2024, nearly two thirds of them in Africa. 

Jointly combating cancer in Ethiopia

Besides Uganda, Ethiopia is among the participating countries. Breast and cervical cancer account for a third of all cancer cases in Ethiopia. The fact that most cases are only diagnosed once the cancer is already at an advanced stage makes treatment more difficult. Since 2018, Martin Luther University (MLU) in Halle, a partner of Addis Ababa University, has been cooperating with hospitals and healthcare institutions in Ethiopia to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer in women. 

The hospital partnership has provided numerous courses for specialist doctors. In addition, four gynaecologic oncology centres have been set up in different regions of Ethiopia and kitted out with modern surgical instruments and lab equipment. As Dr Eric Kröber from the MLU says, there is intensive exchange between the two institutions: “Colleagues from Ethiopiaregularly come to Halle, among other things to gain insights into our surgical procedures.” Currently, the partners are working to improve the provision of healthcare in rural regions in particular, where there is a lack of specialist doctors: for example, an online course in breast and cervical cancer screening is being developed for nurses and midwives.

Microbiology labs to combat infectious diseases

Microbiological diagnostics is the focus of the partnership between the University Hospital Münster (UKM) and Masanga Hospital in Sierra Leone. Since 2019, a microbiology lab has been set up and expanded at the hospital. First, basic equipment had to be procured and staff were trained in laboratory techniques, then microbiological blood tests were made possible, and finally the diagnosis of tuberculosis and Buruli ulcers, an infection of the soft tissue, was improved. 

Among the devices that are imported are for example convenient cartridges with an integrated PCR lab in which DNA analyses can be conducted. The devices are adapted to the challenging conditions in Masanga, where there is hardly any running water and power outages are common, says Professor Frieder Schaumburg from the UKM: “This technique is ideal for places where no contamination-free work surfaces are available. We also ensure that the devices are as unsusceptible to faults as possible and that on-site personnel will in the medium term be able to service and repair them themselves. The team is highly motivated and very proud of the improvements.” 

He explains that many staff from other clinical laboratories in Sierra Leone are now coming to Masanga to expand their knowledge. Schaumburg hopes that this will lead to a network that could for example allow collective purchasing groups to be formed. “This is very important, as manufacturers of laboratory equipment are often not interested in supplying small individual labs in Africa.”

The partners in Masanga are in the process of setting up a quality management system. Expanding the lab in small steps allows the individual modules to be incorporated into routine operation before the project funding comes to an end, explains Schaumburg: “The Hospital Partnerships programme is so valuable because everything is interconnected and allows genuinely sustainable progress to be made.”