The Else Kröner Center for Advanced Medical & Medical Humanitarian Studies Würzburg-Mwanza started work in mid-2020. Its good performance has now been confirmed by an interim report.
Improving health care in the region around Mwanza (Tanzania): This is how the members of the Else Kröner Center for Advanced Medical & Medical Humanitarian Studies Würzburg-Mwanza could describe their goal. Funded with 2.5 million euros by the Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS), the center started work in mid-2020. The funding period is designed for five years.
The project is managed by the Medical Faculty of Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU); cooperation partners in Würzburg are the University Hospital Würzburg (UKW), the Medical Mission Institute and the Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Association (DAHW). Partner organisations in Mwanza are the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences and the Bugando Medical Center.
Extension recommended
Now, at the halfway point of the funding period, the center has been subjected to an interim evaluation. Over the course of several days, external evaluators commissioned by the Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung as well as the scientific members of the Center’s Scientific Advisory Board gained an impression of the work done so far – in Würzburg and in Mwanza.
The result is clear: all experts recommend the continued funding of the Else Kröner Center Würzburg-Mwanza. The wish for the center to continue its work beyond the planned time frame of five years was also made clear. The Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung has also signalled its willingness to do so.
Three main areas of work
The work of the center is essentially focused on three main areas. One of these is the joint training of junior staff by means of exchange programmes for medical students, joint courses in epidemiology and biostatistics, as well as public health, and a bilateral doctoral programme. Training of medical professionals and an expansion of medical care in Mwanza and in the region around Lake Victoria form a second focus. The third is the establishment of a non-profit programme to combat schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease that is widespread around Lake Victoria. The overall objectives are to improve clinical care for the population in the hospital and to improve health care at community level around Lake Victoria.
Voices on the successful interim evaluation
“The Else Kröner Center in Mwanza has developed very well since its foundation, mainly due to the impressive commitment of those involved in Würzburg and Mwanza, and has become a flagship project of the EKFS. We now hope that with the continued funding we will be able to further stabilise what has been built up and once again significantly strengthen the aspects of sustainability and expansion.” Prof. Dr. Michael Madeja, Chairman of the Management Board of the Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung
“With the establishment of the Else Kröner Center, the long-standing partners from Mwanza and Würzburg have been brought even closer together and previous projects have been deepened and expanded. The funding from the Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung also enables a large-scale project to combat schistosomiasis. Both locations will benefit from the continuation of the center on many different levels. We therefore very much welcome the commitment to continue funding the center.” Prof. Dr. Matthias Frosch, Dean of the Medical Faculty of the University of Würzburg
“We at DAHW are very pleased with the result of the evaluation because cooperation with scientific actors is very important for our work and the commitment of the community also plays a significant role in our research. We want to build a bridge, so to speak, between the “ivory tower” of science and the population, who should ultimately benefit from the results of the research – this has been achieved well in this project. And of course we are happy for the people in our project, the PhD students, the doctors and the inhabitants of Ukerewe, for whom schistosomiasis and its consequences still represent a great challenge.” Dr Christa Kasang, Research Coordinator of DAHW Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Association
The Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS)
The non-profit Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung is dedicated to the promotion of medical research and supports medical-humanitarian projects. The foundation was established in 1983 by the entrepreneur Else Kröner and appointed as her sole heir. EKFS derives almost all of its income from dividends from the Fresenius health care group, of which it is the largest shareholder. To date, it has supported around 2,400 projects. With an annual funding volume of currently more than 60 million euros, it is the largest medical foundation in Germany.
