New Emergency Care Skills Help Tanzania’s Frontline Doctors Save Lives

Traffic police take statements from road crash victims at a health facility in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. The country's Basic Emergency Care (BEC) programme is strengthening the capacity of frontline health workers to provide life-saving treatment during the critical moments following serious injuries. Credit: Muhidin Issa Michuziby Kizito Makoye (dar es salaam, tanzania)Friday, August 21, 2026Inter Press Service DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, August 21 (IPS) - The 14-year-old girl arrived at the hospital fighting for her life. After a tragic hit-and-run car accident, she was rushed into the emergency department with serious abdominal injuries. Every passing minute brought her closer to death. “There was internal bleeding,” recalls Dr Iddi Muhammad Juma, a surgeon at Tanzania’s Same District Hospital. “We performed an ultrasound and took her to theatre immediately,” he tells IPS.When surgeons opened her abdomen, they found a ruptured spleen floating inside the abdominal cavity.Applying the structured emergency approach taught in the World Health Organisation’s Basic Emergency Care course, the team stopped the bleeding and removed the ruptured spleen. The girl survived.For Juma, the case ...