Our Approach
Learning Through Experience & Developing a Model NICU
Over more than a decade the ICHA Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) team at Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre (ALMC) transformed the hospital's NICU to offer amongst the highest level of care available in Tanzania, with survival rates rarely seen in East Africa:
A research paper was published in the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics detailing the approach and outcomes: Every breath counts: Lessons learned in developing a training NICU in Northern Tanzania
Dr. Swanson and his team found that using this approach can achieve a high survival rate among critically ill and preterm neonates in limited income environments without the use of expensive, advanced-skill technologies like mechanical ventilators.
Sharing our NICU Practices
Our team of Tanzanian doctors and NICU nurses became highly sought after as educators and healthcare workers in neonatology, demonstrating that small, premature infants weighing as little as 650 grams (1.4 pounds) could routinely survive and thrive in a low-income African NICU.
We focus on teaching our low-technology, low-cost solutions to the challenges of infant thermoregulation, respiratory support, neonatal feeding and nutrition and infection control / prevention measures.
Dr. Swanson and/or his team have traveled to Greece, Thailand, Mongolia and across East Africa at the request of partner hospitals and institutions to train and teach other NICU physicians and nurses.
The Tiny Feet Big Steps Conference has grown to become the largest neonatology conference in Africa and is now expanding to Ethiopia (Dec. 2025), Uganda and Ghana (2026).
Over more than a decade the ICHA Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) team at Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre (ALMC) transformed the hospital's NICU to offer amongst the highest level of care available in Tanzania, with survival rates rarely seen in East Africa:
- improving the survival rate of the babies in their NICU from 77% in 2014 to 92% in 2021.
- survival of preterm babies weighing <1000 grams (2.2lbs) and at least 26 weeks gestation increased by 4-fold to 85%.
A research paper was published in the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics detailing the approach and outcomes: Every breath counts: Lessons learned in developing a training NICU in Northern Tanzania
Dr. Swanson and his team found that using this approach can achieve a high survival rate among critically ill and preterm neonates in limited income environments without the use of expensive, advanced-skill technologies like mechanical ventilators.
Sharing our NICU Practices
Our team of Tanzanian doctors and NICU nurses became highly sought after as educators and healthcare workers in neonatology, demonstrating that small, premature infants weighing as little as 650 grams (1.4 pounds) could routinely survive and thrive in a low-income African NICU.
We focus on teaching our low-technology, low-cost solutions to the challenges of infant thermoregulation, respiratory support, neonatal feeding and nutrition and infection control / prevention measures.
Dr. Swanson and/or his team have traveled to Greece, Thailand, Mongolia and across East Africa at the request of partner hospitals and institutions to train and teach other NICU physicians and nurses.
The Tiny Feet Big Steps Conference has grown to become the largest neonatology conference in Africa and is now expanding to Ethiopia (Dec. 2025), Uganda and Ghana (2026).
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From grassroots stories of resilience to the growth of the Arusha Pediatric & Maternity Centre, you’ll receive updates that keep you informed, inspired, and involved. |
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