Four specialist cardiologists from the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI), are conducting heart surgeries to patients with various heart problems in Zambia.

The doctors collaborate with their colleagues from the Zambia National Heart Hospital and will perform surgeries for one week.

The head of the delegation, Dr. Viviane Mlawi who is a pediatrician from (JKCI), said the delegation was also accompanied by a Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesiologist doctor, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) medical doctor, a Senior Cardiac ICU nurse and one ICU nurse.

She said they are also accompanied by specialists in serving foreign who come to get treatment in Tanzania, Dr. Maiyer Msengi.

Dr. Mlawi said the main objectives of the trip are to perform heart surgery for the needy, who are many in Zambia, build the capacity of Zambian doctors in surgical techniques that they do not yet have, and share knowledge.

She mentioned that another goal is to jointly review and identify areas where Tanzania can collaborate with Zambia in helping Zambians receive specialist treatment quickly and at low cost.

Dr. Mlawi said the doctors will review and identify available medical devices and those that are not available to strategize how they can work together to get them to improve their services.

She mentioned that another goal is to see various areas of cooperation in research, technology and basic matters. Tanzania is very ahead in the area for this region of East and Central Africa.

On his side, Dr. Maiyer Msengi, who is an expert in the management of abroad patients, said that there are many things that JKCI and the Zambia National Heart Hospital can do in cooperate for the development of the two countries.

She mentioned the issues as ensuring that they facilitate the issuance of permits to enter those countries (visas), accommodation for those visiting those countries, and registration of telephone numbers and permits to go for medical treatment.

She said that on the Tanzanian side, they will ensure that there is certainty of appointments to meet with specialist doctors and get services on time to reduce the cost of living in the country for a long time.

She said that they will ensure that there is good care during and after heart surgery for heart patients and make JKCI continue to be a center of excellence for many countries in Africa and elsewhere.

Dr Msengi said another basic thing that they will ensure is properly considered is the certainty of the correct costs of tests, treatment and the safety of the patient by protecting all his rights while getting treatment.

She said it is important to continue to improve the relationship between the two countries in the provision of information at the embassy, especially considering that there is a great demand for people to come to the country to get heart treatment.

Spokesperson of the Zambia National Heart Hospital, Dr. Chabwela Shumba said they have met with Tanzanian doctors and after analyzing the investment that the government has made to JKCI, they have seen that they will benefit to a large extent if they cooperate with Tanzania.

"We were very surprised to see the large investment made in modern equipment such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), CT SCAN, human resources, technology and the large number of patients who underwent heart surgery with great success," said Dr Shumba.

He said that they have found that JKCI uses the same technology used by developed countries, so there is no need to send their patients to those countries because they can get such services from the JKCI  at a very affordable cost.