Diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis are a major cause of death in Tanzania. Besides the catastrophic human toll, the economic effects are staggering. Working with the Tanzanian health care system to improve health care and prevent disease are essential components of Empower Tanzania's strategy in Tanzania.
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
Phil Latessa, President of the ETI Board of Directors, is serving as US Coordinator for a federally-funded healthcare project in Tanzania. The project has trained 200 healthcare providers so far in the concepts of Palliative Care, care for terminally ill patients, and for people living with HIV/AIDS. In its second year, six villages were identified to serve as pilot sites in which community volunteers would be trained to deliver this care in the homes of these terminally ill people. Hundreds of these patients and their families will receive this care, designed to help people “die a good death” and their families to adjust to this loss.
Mwanga Parish of the ELCT (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania) and Peace Lutheran Church, Pella, Iowa, of the ELCA have been cooperating for three years in providing AIDS testing services, diapers for new babies, mosquito netting for small children, and diet supplements for babies and AIDS patients. They also provide some over the counter medications, such as antibacterial cream, Tylenol and aspirin, to needy patients.
In October, a delegation from the Western Iowa Synod, ELCA, visited the Southern Diocese in Tanzania. The trip was scheduled to coincide with the arrival of a container from Global Health Ministries destined for Ilembula, the diocese hospital. In most cases, delays in the shipping schedule make such plans risky at best. But Dr. Tim Peterson and Carlene Embree, RN, and ETI Board Member, were successful.
What we do 
Mwanga Parish of the ELCT (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania) and Peace Lutheran Church, Pella, Iowa, of the ELCA have been cooperating for three years in providing AIDS testing services, diapers for new babies, mosquito netting for small children, and diet supplements for babies and AIDS patients. They also provide some over the counter medications, such as antibacterial cream, Tylenol and aspirin, to needy patients.