The Village Wellness Program is an innovative and comprehensive health promotion program, located in the Karatu District of Tanzania, Africa. This unique initiative truly embodies the Swahili phrase “Mtu ni Afya” or “life is health,” by serving as the district’s nexus for sustainable development for 70,000 residents. The VWP combines “best practices” in community health care delivery and disease prevention with economic stimulation and other social supports, to achieve the following shorter-term outcomes:
improved health care access and service delivery
heightened economic vitality
increased levels of communication and collaboration among district stakeholders
Our goal is to ultimately bring about reduced incidence and prevalence of such deadly diseases such as malaria, cholera, HIV/AIDS, anemia, dysentery, and malnutrition.
The VWP works closely with both religious partners and the Tanzanian government to build additional capacity within this existing development network, using an effective three-point service model: empowering villages to take a more active role in their own health and well being; strengthening local dispensaries in some of the poorest villages; and fostering economic development to sustain positive health outcomes. The VWP was designed to build capacity among the villagers themselves for disease prevention and early detection, thus lowering the number of acute cases, and reducing the need for outside intervention.
Since its inception in 2002, the St. Joseph Medical Center Village Wellness Program has made great strides in improving the health and well-being of the people of Karatu, Tanzania. We need your help to continue to raise enough funds each year to support a continuation of casting nets over all of the villagers in Tanzania! Please click on "Ways to Give" on the right hand side to help support the Village Wellness Program!!!!
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