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United Republic of Tanzania

© Louise Annaud/MSF
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Famed for both its rich wildlife and Mount Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest mountain – Tanzania has been spared much of the instability that has struck other East African states. However, this has not translated into prosperity for the majority of Tanzanians who are still living below the poverty line.

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) first worked in Tanzania in 1993. We returned in 2015 to provide medical assistance to the large numbers of Burundian and Congolese refugees living in overcrowded camps in the country’s northeast. This work includes supplying safe drinking water and sanitation, as well as responding to huge numbers of malaria patients.

Barthelemy, Burundian refugee and MSF staff member at work in Tanzania
Barthelemy
“No one chooses to be a refugee”
Barthelemy is a Burundian refugee and staff member with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Nduta camp, northwestern Tanzania, where MSF is the sole healthcare provider for 75,000 refugees. As a refugee himself, Barthelemy embarked on an extraordinary journey to reach safety and begin a new life with his family.
24 Jun 2020 / 5 minute read
Workers build a temporary triage and isolation area as MSF steps up preparedness measures for COVID-19 at Nduta refugee camp in northwest Tanzania.
Tanzania head of mission Pete Clausen
Pete Clausen
Country Management Team
"The spread could be impossible to stop": Preparing for COVID-19 in a refugee camp
How do you prepare a camp with over 73,000 Burundian refugees and limited access to healthcare for COVID-19? From Tanzania, Pete reveals how an outbreak could impact Nduta refugee camp, in the country's northwest, as the new coronavirus disease spreads throughout Africa.
15 Apr 2020 / 4 minute read
Saschveen Singh
Doctor
Treating refugees in Tanzania: Malnutrition
Saschveen has recently returned from a posting with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Tanzania, where she was working as a doctor in Nduta refugee camp. She shared her diary with us...
03 May 2018 / 4 minute read
Saschveen Singh
Doctor
Treating refugees in Tanzania: Perspective
Saschveen has recently returned from assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Nduta, Tanzania, where she was providing vital healthcare to the many Burundian refugees there. Although the team has limited resources, today she reflects on just how much they have been able to achieve...
19 Apr 2018 / 5 minute read
Saschveen Singh
Doctor
Treating refugees in Tanzania: A Typical Day
Saschveen has recently returned from assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Nduta, Tanzania, where she was providing vital healthcare to the many Burundian refugees there. She shares her diary from the time...
23 Mar 2018 / 3 minute read
Saschveen Singh
Doctor
Treating refugees in Tanzania: Teamwork - it's a beautiful thing
Saschveen has recently returned from assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Nduta, Tanzania, where she was providing vital healthcare to the many Burundian refugees there. She shares her diary from the time...
14 Mar 2018 / 4 minute read
Saschveen Singh
Doctor
Treating refugees in Tanzania: Malaria
Saschveen has recently returned from assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Nduta, Tanzania, where she was providing vital healthcare to the many Burundian refugees there. She shares her diary from the time...
07 Mar 2018 / 3 minute read
Saschveen Singh
Doctor
Treating refugees in Tanzania: My first impressions
Saschveen has recently returned from assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Nduta, Tanzania, where she was providing vital healthcare to the many Burundian refugees there. She shares her diary from the time...
02 Mar 2018 / 5 minute read
peanut butter
Katharine Andre
Doctor
Two worlds: coming home after an MSF assignment
Katharine is a doctor from the USA who has recently returned from Tanzania, where she was working in an MSF project for refugees. Here she blogs about transitioning from life on assignment to life at home...
24 Jul 2017 / 2 minute read
Katharine Andre
Doctor
Treating refugees in Tanzania: "The hospital is overflowing"
Katharine blogs about what happens when unexpected events threaten to overwhelm a medical project, and how MSF responds to make sure needs are met...
21 Apr 2017 / 2 minute read
The red dust on the road in Makere
Katharine Andre
Doctor
Transition: Agok, Alaska, and Now . . . Makere!
Alaskan doctor Katharine Andre recently finished a short mission with MSF in South Sudan. After a trip back home—and copious amounts of chocolate cookies—she is now in Tanzania as part of an MSF team working in Nduta and Nyarugusu refugee camps. Here she blogs about her first impressions of her new surroundings and the work she will be doing.
01 Mar 2017 / 5 minute read
Washing drying in the MSF compound
Karin Walter
Biomedical scientist
Habari! My first mission in Tanzania
Austrian laboratory technician Karin Walter is currently in Tanzania on her first assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). MSF first worked in Tanzania in 1993. We returned in 2015 to provide assistance for refugees living in overcrowded camps, with poor sanitation and little access to healthcare.
19 Jan 2017 / 3 minute read