Arusha is located in east Africa’s Tanzania. It is home to volcanic Mt. Meru and adjacent to Mt. Kilimanjaro. It is also home to the Arusha Traffic Police (APD). An organization working to improve the emergency medical response in the region. 

Dr. Peter Mabula, our partner in Tanzania and KOPI director, has worked tirelessly in the region to improve emergency care. He is looking to expand his response by adding prehospital providers to his network. A key component of this work is the APD. 

Arusha does not have an established ambulance service or formalized paramedic training program. In an effort to better understand the western emergency medical services (EMS) response, Dr. Mabula visited our medical director in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and from there we formed a strong relationship. 

The experience left a lasting impression with everyone involved. After a year of planning, our Executive Director, Nathan Koranda, headed to Arusha to provide EMS education to doctors and nurses at a local hospital designated as a stakeholder facility by Dr. Mabula. The goal of the training was to introduce this group to the idea of EMS and start a discussion on how to make EMS in Arusha a reality. The initial training was a success and everyone involved wanted to see the project through. 

Dr. Mabula recognized that without a formalized EMS system in Arusha prehospital care of nearly 800,000 citizens is left to officers in the traffic division of the APD. In 2019, 2021, and 2022 KOPI traveled to Arusha to provide EMS education to police officers. All trainings were well received and showed measurable improvement in knowledge from pre- to post-test.

Mental health education and resources are still in their infancy and the area is in need of support. KOPI recognizes that there is an opportunity to address both issues simultaneously.

We are currently working on developing a network of individuals dedicated to providing emergency medicine and mental health education in the region. Through remote interaction and short term medical missions we plan to help Dr. Mabula build a reliable emergency service staffed with providers capable of addressing physical and mental trauma.

If you would like to help us help Arusha and contribute your time or resources, please reach out to us by clicking the link below.