Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Northwestern Medicine Community Ships Medical Supplies to Tanzania
Education News

Northwestern Medicine Community Ships Medical Supplies to Tanzania

By Sarah PlumridgeFeb 5, 2016
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
IMG_0812
The Northwestern Medicine community came together to pack and ship a container of supplies for cancer education and treatment to a rural hospital in Tanzania.

On January 23rd, medical students, physicians and supporters of Northwestern Medicine gathered to help pack a container shipment of lifesaving medical equipment and supplies to the Rural Aid Organization (RAO) Hospital in Shirati, Tanzania.

These supplies, worth about $500,000, will be used for cancer education and treatment. The shipment also includes 40 boxes of textbooks donated by medical students that span disciplines including surgery, internal medicine, infectious disease and cancer care.

Robert Dorfman, a second-year medical student, organized medical student involvement and has been active in the cancer education outreach project.

“Northwestern places an emphasis on educating medical students about disparities in healthcare, especially in a global context,” Dorfman said. “Working on this project has enabled me to take what I learn in the classroom and apply it in a real world setting. There is no question that while this work has been important in improving the health of these local populations, the effect of this work on the development of myself as a future physician has been powerful, and even transformative.”

The activity was supported by the International Relations Institute, part of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, the Global Health Initiative (GHI) and Project CURE, a nonprofit humanitarian relief organization.

“The International Relations Institute at the Lurie Cancer Center was established to have a global impact on cancer health disparities,” said Leonidas Platanias, MD, PhD, director of the Lurie Cancer Center. “We’re excited about this new initiative to improve cancer care in Tanzania, where screening and treatment options are scarce. Our work here at Northwestern, and in collaboration with our international partner institutions, will lead to important clinical advances for patients and their families locally, nationally and throughout the world.”

Robert Havey, ’80 MD, ’81 ’83 GME, assistant professor of Clinical Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics and founder of the Global Health Initiative, added, “We are bringing lifesaving cancer care to this rural community in Tanzania. Up to this point, there has virtually been no cancer screening or treatment available in this area. The long-term impact of this undertaking and the benefit to this low resource community is beyond measure.”

The shipment to Tanzania came about after Leah Makoyo, a former Northwestern Medicine patient, impressed with the quality of care she received, approached the Lurie Cancer Center to learn if they could help bring cancer education and a screening program to the RAO Hospital, operated by her husband, Ziki Makoyo, MD.

While visiting RAO Hospital last year, Sarki Abdulkadir, MD, PhD, John T. Grayhack, MD, Professor of Urological Research in the Department of Urology and co-director of the International Relations Institute, realized that in addition to education materials, the hospital also had a need for basic medical supplies. Project CURE sent physicians to assess the need and matched them with donated equipment.

“I think this shipment will carry a huge impact on their community,” Dr. Abdulkadir said. “Cancer is a disease people used to think developing countries don’t have to deal with, which isn’t the case. I think it’s a good idea to establish a deep relationship and do whatever we can to help our partners. We have active research programs in Tanzania and Nigeria, so this would also help our own research mission here.”

In the future, the team would like to develop the RAO hospital in Tanzania as a future site for medical students to go to help with patient education.

“Health awareness of issues such as breast cancer detection are simply non-existent,” Dorfman said. “As a result, most women come to the hospital when it is too late, when the cancer has already metastasized all over their bodies. We recently created a series of pamphlets and educational tools to increase awareness of breast cancer and to educate the community on how to perform breast self-examination and when to seek care.”

Community Engagement Faculty Global Health Students
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Student Spearheads Ukraine Aid Efforts

Jun 27, 2022

Pride Panel Highlights LGBTQ Leadership and Activism

Jun 16, 2022

Distinguished Implementation Scientist to Lead Medical Social Sciences

Jun 14, 2022

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Fathers’ Presence During Childhood Predicts Adult Testosterone Levels

Jun 29, 2022

Epigenetic Biomarkers Predict CVD Risk

Jun 28, 2022

Student Spearheads Ukraine Aid Efforts

Jun 27, 2022

Hospitals Bound to Patient Safety Rules that Aren’t all Backed by Evidence

Jun 24, 2022

Identifying Protein Interactions that Promote Cancer Growth

Jun 24, 2022
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20220617_NM_0434
20220617_NM_0858
20220617_NM_0643
20220617_NM_0835
20220617_NM_0544
20220617_NM_0450
20220617_NM_0790
20220617_NM_0811
20220617_NM_0851
20220617_NM_0696
20220617_NM_0779
20220617_NM_0838

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2022 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.