Institute for Child Healthcare Africa (ICHA)
Vision
A continent where all children can thrive through quality healthcare.
Mission
To provide evidence-based, compassionate medical care to children through education, research and collaboration with hospitals throughout Africa.
Our Work
Advancing Child Healthcare in Africa
1. Delivering low-cost, high impact neonatology services of premature and hospitalized newborns in our partner NICUs:
2. Providing specialty outpatient and inpatient pediatric care through the:
3. Mentoring doctors and nurses in pediatrics
4. Training NICU physicians & nurses through Tiny Feet Big Steps (TFBS) Neonatology Conferences
1. Delivering low-cost, high impact neonatology services of premature and hospitalized newborns in our partner NICUs:
- Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre (ALMC) NICU.
- Kivulini Hospital / Maternity Africa NICU (providing ICHA physicians).
- Potential new hospital relationships ICHA is fostering.
2. Providing specialty outpatient and inpatient pediatric care through the:
- Arusha Pediatric & Maternity Centre (APMC) - a first ever dedicated specialty centre for outpatient care of infants, children, adolescents, and pregnant women.
- Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre (ALMC) pediatric ward and clinics.
3. Mentoring doctors and nurses in pediatrics
- 7 Tanzanian doctors and 20 NICU nurses are currently supported by ICHA.
- 4 doctors in international residency programs (Kenya, South Africa, USA) that ICHA has helped reach this stage of training.
- Teaching at Pediatric Association of Tanzania and other venues.
4. Training NICU physicians & nurses through Tiny Feet Big Steps (TFBS) Neonatology Conferences
- Uniquely co-training physicians and nurses, with a strong emphasis on innovation, clinical proficiency, and actionable healthcare strategies.
- Leading the largest African Neonatology Conference in Arusha, Tanzania.
- Expanded to Ethiopia, Dec. 2025.
- Exploring expansion opportunities at the request of other countries.
- Resourcing medical staff with our Every Breath Counts Manual of Neonatal Care & Drug Doses, 3rd Ed: a 440-page neonatal care handbook offering evidence-based protocols, drug dosing, and NICU procedures for low-resource settings. It’s been distributed to nearly 250 hospitals across 25 African countries, serving as a key training tool to improve newborn survival.
Beginnings
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ICHA was founded by Dr. Stephen and Jodi Swanson to increase evidence-based, compassionate medical care to children through education and research. Steve and Jodi moved to Arusha, Tanzania in 2013 under the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). There they oversaw dramatic hospital-based improvements in pediatrics, training of Tanzanian physicians and nurses and the care of hospitalized children with severe acute malnutrition.
Most notably, Dr. Swanson and his Tanzanian colleagues made dramatic improvements in the NICU setting at Arusha Lutheran Medical Center using evidence - based, innovative models of neonatal care appropriate from limited income settings. More than 90% of all babies including extremely premature babies weighing less than 2.2 pounds or 1,000 grams now survive in this NICU setting. |
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Steve is a board-certified pediatric and infectious disease physician and serves in the care of children at Arusha Lutheran Medical Center (ALMC) and Selian Lutheran Hospital in northern Tanzania.
Steve is active in educational and research efforts and mentorship and developed the "Tiny Feet Big Steps - Advancing Care of Critically Ill and Premature Babies in Africa" international conference. Now in its 5th year, TFBS conferences have trained over 600 physicians and nurses from 150 + institutions and hospitals across 20 African countries.
Jodi participates in the care and management of severe acute childhood malnutrition in the hospital and community, as well as being active in nursing and health education and training community health workers.
Steve is active in educational and research efforts and mentorship and developed the "Tiny Feet Big Steps - Advancing Care of Critically Ill and Premature Babies in Africa" international conference. Now in its 5th year, TFBS conferences have trained over 600 physicians and nurses from 150 + institutions and hospitals across 20 African countries.
Jodi participates in the care and management of severe acute childhood malnutrition in the hospital and community, as well as being active in nursing and health education and training community health workers.
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The approach that Steve and Jodi take focuses on education and training and the use of resource appropriate technology.
Today, ICHA organizes and leads the annual Tiny Feet Big Steps (TFBS) conference, provides life-saving care to infants at the Arusha Lutheran Medical Center and sponsors Tanzanian physician pediatric training and NICU nursing education. Our goals are to expand our neonatology conference, Tiny Feet Big Steps, to additional African countries which will help us to train more local physicians and nurses. In addition, we plan to open a children's medical clinic focused on outpatient pediatric services, medical education of families, and training of Tanzanian staff. |
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