Continuing collaboration with Spanish NGO, FECS, and VRiMS, virtual reality training, in Mwanza, Tanzania
European Collaboration Strengthens Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgical Training in Tanzania
Several European organisations and institutions are working together to strengthen cranio-maxillofacial surgical training in Tanzania through a coordinated programme of fellowships, clinical exchanges, educational initiatives and capacity-building projects.
Bugando Medical Centre
In 2023, the Spanish Foundation for Health Cooperation (FECS) signed a partnership agreement with Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) in Mwanza, Tanzania. As the principal referral hospital for the Lake Victoria region, BMC serves a catchment population of approximately 20 million people and plays a pivotal role in delivering specialist healthcare to predominantly rural communities.
The primary objective of this collaboration is to strengthen local surgical capacity through a comprehensive training programme for Tanzanian surgeons and healthcare professionals. The initiative combines visits by experienced international volunteer surgeons with fellowships that enable Tanzanian specialists to undertake advanced training in leading centres in Europe and India.
This is a truly multi-partner initiative including FECS (Spain), Future Faces (United Kingdom), MKA Tanzania (Nederland), the GSR Institute of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery in Hyderabad, India, Hospital Universitario La Paz and Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal in Madrid, and the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, United Kingdom.
As part of this programme, the first Tanzanian fellows, funded by Future Faces, Dr Emmanuel Motega and Dr Fidelis Mbunda, arrived in Madrid in June 2024 to begin an intensive advanced training programme. They spent four months rotating through the Departments of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Hospital La Paz (Prof Jose Luis Cebrian) and Hospital Ramón y Cajal (Prof Julio Acero).
In 2025, their fellowship continued with a further two months at the Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead (Prof Ash Gulati, Prof Jag Dhanda), one of Europe’s leading centres for reconstructive cranio-maxillofacial surgery. The final stage of their programme took place at the GSR Institute in Hyderabad, India, where they received highly specialised training in cleft, craniofacial and reconstructive surgery.
Overall, the fellowship provided almost one year of intensive postgraduate training, generously funded by Future Faces, under the leadership of Professor Tony Markus, in close collaboration with FECSS
VRiMS (Virtual Reality in Medicine and Surgery)
As part of the expanding training programme in Tanzania, Future Faces awarded scholarships to two surgeons from Bugando Medical Centre to participate in the VRiMS (Virtual Reality in Medicine and Surgery) programme.
Developed by Professor Jag Dhanda (Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, and Brighton & Sussex Medical School), VRiMS is an innovative educational platform that harnesses high-quality Virtual and Extended Reality (VR/XR) technologies to transform surgical education, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The platform enables surgeons to observe complex procedures in an immersive environment and provides access to an extensive educational library covering multiple surgical specialties, including Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery.
Dr Fidelis Mbunda and Dr Vihar Kotecha attended the intensive VRiMS training programme in Guildford (8–12 September 2025), where they received hands-on instruction in the use of Extended Reality technologies for surgical education in resource-limited settings. Their training included participation in the VRiMS 19 cadaveric course, while also contributing to the development of immersive educational content in Swahili, thereby making the platform more accessible to healthcare professionals across East Africa.
A further milestone was achieved in February 2026, when Professor Jag Dhanda visited Bugando Medical Centre to oversee the implementation of the VRiMS platform. This marked the beginning of a new era in digital surgical education in Tanzania, providing local surgeons with continuous access to advanced training resources and strengthening the long-term sustainability of the country’s cranio-maxillofacial training programme.
Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam
The collaborative training initiative has recently expanded to Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania’s leading university teaching hospital, where a new generation of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons is undertaking advanced subspecialty training in head and neck oncology.
At the end of August 2025, Dr Enock Alphonce Robi, Dr Abbas Mussa Mungia and Dr Arnold Mtenga began an ambitious international fellowship programme designed to develop future leaders in cranio-maxillofacial surgery.
The initiative is coordinated by Dr Albert Wittkampf, founder of the Dutch Foundation for the Development of Maxillofacial Surgery in Tanzania (MKA-Tanzania), in close collaboration with FECS and several European and international partner institutions.
The programme commenced with enrolment in the AO CMF Global Oral Cancer Diploma, a ten-month international online course providing comprehensive theoretical training in head and neck oncology. This course was funded by FECS (Fundación Española de Cooperacion Sanitaria).
Following completion of this academic component, Dr Enock Alphonce Robi has continued his fellowship with two months of clinical training in head and neck oncology at two leading university hospitals in the Netherlands. His programme will then continue with a further two months at the GSR Institute of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery in Hyderabad, India, before moving to Madrid, Spain, for a three-month fellowship, and finally to the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, United Kingdom, for an additional three months of advanced clinical training.
This international pathway provides progressive exposure to different healthcare systems, surgical philosophies and subspecialist expertise, enabling the fellows to acquire the knowledge and clinical experience required to establish and further develop modern head and neck oncological services in Tanzania.
REACH Tanzania: Bringing Specialist Care Closer to Rural Communities
Building on the progress achieved through international surgical training, a new initiative is currently under development to improve access to specialist cranio-maxillofacial care for rural populations in Tanzania.
The REACH Tanzania project is inspired by the successful REACH (Rural, Effective, Affordable, Comprehensive Healthcare) model, developed more than 25 years ago in India by Professor Gosla Reddy and Professor Tony Markus. The programme has demonstrated how community-based healthcare networks can overcome geographical and socioeconomic barriers, enabling patients living in remote areas to access specialist surgical services.
The Tanzanian adaptation aims to establish a sustainable referral network across the Lake Victoria region, where millions of people continue to face major obstacles in accessing specialist cranio-maxillofacial care. Rather than waiting for patients to reach tertiary hospitals, the programme brings the healthcare system closer to the community by creating an integrated network linking community health workers, district hospitals and specialist referral centres.
The pilot programme, scheduled to begin in Nzega District, Tabora Region, will establish a structured pathway for the early identification of patients with cleft lip and palate, craniofacial deformities, head and neck tumours, traumatic injuries and other conditions requiring specialist cranio-maxillofacial surgery. Community health workers will be trained to recognise these conditions, register patients through a dedicated health information system and facilitate timely referral to Bugando Medical Centre or other specialist units when appropriate.
Beyond patient identification and referral, REACH Tanzania incorporates community health education, screening programmes, professional training and comprehensive patient support. The programme will cover transportation, accommodation, surgical treatment and multidisciplinary follow-up, ensuring that financial hardship does not prevent access to life-changing care.
The initial twelve-month pilot phase is expected to provide treatment for 100–200 patients while strengthening local healthcare capacity and evaluating the effectiveness of this community-based model.