Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Bugando Zonal Referral Hospital has made significant progress in providing specialised and super-specialised medical services, positioning itself as one of the leading referral hospitals in the region.
Mwanza Regional Medical Officer Dr Jesca Lebba highlighted the achievements in an exclusive interview with the ‘Daily News’, reflecting on the region’s healthcare advancements over the past five years (2020-2025).
She noted over the weekend, that the hospital has made great strides in specialised treatment for kidney diseases, diabetes, blood disorders, infectious diseases and gastrointestinal conditions.
Other specialised services available at the hospital include dermatology, pediatrics, oncology, respiratory diseases, emergency and trauma care, mental health services and physiotherapy.
Dr Jesca touted the hospital’s advancements in superspecialised surgeries, including hip and knee replacements, oral and dental surgery, cleft lip and palate repair and ear, nose, throat and eye surgeries.
She listed other high-level procedures such as cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery, spinal surgery, urological surgery, advanced surgical procedures, pediatric surgery, minimally invasive surgery and prosthetics and orthotics services.
Between January 2020 and December 2024, the hospital provided cancer treatment to 91,899 patients, with 86,788 receiving outpatient care and 5,111 admitted. Among them, 29,503 patients underwent chemotherapy, while 4,414 received radiotherapy.
Bugando Hospital has also extended outreach services to 27 health facilities, including regional referral hospitals in Mara, Katavi, Kagera and Shinyanga, as well as district hospitals in Ruangwa, Magu, Nyamagana, Igunga, Tarime, Sumve and Biharamulo.
Other outreach sites include Karume and Nyarugusu health centres and Bwisya Hospital, where a total of 39,920 patients received treatment, with 4,014 undergoing surgeries.
The availability of essential medicines at the hospital has improved significantly, rising from 79 per cent to 97 per cent this year. The Medical Stores Department (MSD) now supplies an average of 32 per cent of the hospital’s essential medicine needs.
Further achievements include the procurement of a Tesla MRI machine worth 2.7bn/- and the installation of an oxygen plant (Plant III) at a cost of 872m/-.
Additionally, the hospital has acquired and installed a 64-slice Backup CT Scanner worth 1.4bn/-, constructed a cancer ward for 5bn/- and built an eye clinic at a cost of 3.7bn/- , funded by the Christian Blind Mission (CBM) along with 1.3bn/- from internal revenue.
Meanwhile, Dr Jesca reported that Mwanza region has received a total of 49.5bn/- in different phases for healthcare infrastructure improvements, compared to 22bn/- in 2020.
The availability of medical supplies in the region has also improved, rising from 74 per cent in 2020 to 90.56 per cent this year.
Laboratory service centres have expanded from 227 facilities in 2020 to 332 in 2025, representing a 46 per cent increase.
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