Swiss TPH

Since 1997, the Swiss TPH has conducted a course in clinical tropical medicine for medical and paramedical personnel in health facilities in a rural district in Africa. The 3-weeks course takes place in the St. Francis Designated District Hospital in Ifakara, Tanzania, and in Ilala District Hospital in Dar es Salaam. It combines new teaching methods, recent scientific knowledge, and medical practice with limited resources into a new form of education for medical professionals working at district level in developing countries. The mixture of expatriate and Tanzanian facilitators, a highly motivated hospital staff, and groups of motivated participants is excellent in creating a challenging academic and educational atmosphere. The interaction between academic staff and practitioners from the North and from the South facilitates knowledge exchange among all the people involved, which benefits not only the course participants but also the local hospital staff, who are incorporated in the teaching process. The course is unique in combining theoretical knowledge directly with the reality of a hospital in a country with severe resource constraints.