Press Releases

President to Lay Foundation Stone of new U.S. Supported Care and Treatment Center at Mkuranga District Hospital

November 30, 2007

The Foundation Stone of the new Care and Treatment Center (CTC) at Mkuranga District Hospital will be laid on Monday, marking an important step forward in the services available in that region. It is expected that the His Honorable President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete will lay the Foundation Stone during a small ceremony scheduled to take place at the hospital on Monday, December 3rd, at 11:00 am.

The Mkuranga CTC is supported with technical and financial support by the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Program of Columbia University (ICAP-CU), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) and with support from the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC).

Since its inception in 2003, PEPFAR has contributed over $500 million in Tanzania towards combating the dreaded scourge of HIV/AIDS. This fiscal year, the United States Government expects to increase PEPFAR assistance by an additional $303 million. The Care and Treatment Center at Mkuranga District Hospital is from the American people and is part of overall U.S. Government direct and multilateral assistance to Tanzania of more than half a billion U.S. Dollars (over 725 billion Tanzanian shillings) in fiscal year 2008.

Mkuranga District Hospital began offering CTC services in May of 2006 using one clinician consultation room within the Reproductive and Child Health clinic. Services later shifted to a temporary tent. The CTC, which is currently serving 540 registered clients, 210 of which have been started on Anti-Retroviral therapy as of October, 2007.

The expanded CTC will increase access to HIV/AIDS treatment throughout the region and will allow for better linkages with other services including Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, Care and Treatment services, Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) of HIV & Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT).

Mkuranga District Hospital is a government owned facility located in Mkuranga district, Coast Region. It is 64 kilometers from Dar-es-Salaam on the major highway to the South of Tanzania. Population served is estimated to be 185,000 people. HIV prevalence among pregnant mothers currently receiving services at the CTC is 7.2%