The Benjamin Mkapa Hospital (BMH) in Dodoma will further develop specialist cardiac care in the coming years. To this end, the hospital is collaborating with various hospitals and medical organizations from the Netherlands and Germany. During a visit by a medical delegation from Dodoma to the Netherlands and Germany, agreements were made regarding a joint roadmap for the next five years.

Central to this collaboration are the Benjamin Mkapa Hospital in Tanzania, the Amphia Hospital in Breda, and the Schüchtermann-Klinik, a specialized heart center in Bad Rothenfelde, Germany. The collaboration is supported and coordinated from the Netherlands by ZGT Overzee.

Sharing knowledge and expertise

Good specialist care requires not only modern equipment and facilities, but above all well-trained medical professionals. Therefore, knowledge transfer plays an important role within the new collaboration.

Within the five-year roadmap, specialists at Benjamin Mkapa Hospital will have opportunities to further develop their expertise in complex cardiac care. Training and education can take place in Tanzania as well as in the Netherlands and Germany.

By giving doctors and other medical specialists the opportunity to gain experience in various hospitals, knowledge can be transferred directly to daily practice in Tanzania. The ultimate goal is for an increasing number of specialized treatments to be performed within Tanzania itself.

Medical delegation visits Europe

In August 2026, a medical delegation from Dodoma visited various hospitals in the Netherlands and Germany. These included visits to the Amphia Hospital in Breda, the Schüchtermann-Klinik in Bad Rothenfelde, and medical organizations in Twente.

During these visits, Tanzanian and European specialists were able to exchange experiences and discuss areas where further cooperation is possible.

The visit constituted an important step in establishing shared ambitions for the coming years. The focus was not only on medical knowledge, but also on the question of how hospitals can collaborate structurally.

Also cooperation within Tanzania

The development of specialized cardiac care is not based solely on international cooperation. The Benjamin Mkapa Hospital explicitly aims to utilize the knowledge and experience already present within Tanzania.

Therefore, BMH continues to collaborate with various important medical institutions in the country, including the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI), Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), Bugando Medical Centre (BMC), and Aga Khan.

By connecting national and international expertise, a strong network is created in which medical knowledge, training, and experience can be shared.

Towards a strong medical center for East Africa

For Benjamin Mkapa Hospital, the collaboration fits within a broader ambition. The hospital aims to further develop into a high-quality medical center for Tanzania and the surrounding region in East Africa.

International collaborations can make a significant contribution in this regard. By building long-term relationships between hospitals, specialists can learn from each other and new treatment methods can be applied more quickly.

This does not involve a one-off visit or a single training session. It is precisely the five-year roadmap that makes it possible to work step by step towards the sustainable development of specialist cardiac care.

For patients, this ultimately means that increasingly complex treatments can become available closer to home.

Sustainable cooperation as a starting point

For Focus for Africa, this development aligns with an important principle: sustainable development arises primarily when knowledge is shared and local professionals are given the opportunity to further expand their expertise.

By having Tanzanian specialists work together with colleagues in the Netherlands and Germany, a collaboration is created in which knowledge is not offered temporarily, but can become a permanent part of healthcare in Tanzania.

The agreements between Benjamin Mkapa Hospital, Amphia, the Schüchtermann-Klinik, and the involved partners thus form an important basis for the further development of specialist cardiac care in Tanzania and East Africa.