Else Kröner Center

The Else Kröner Center (EKC) Würzburg - Mwanza was established in August 2020 and is based on a long partnership between Mwanza and its partner city Würzburg. Over the years, numerous medical and humanitarian projects have been established in collaboration of several partners from Tanzania and Germany, including the fight against neglected tropical diseases, and a lively exchange of students and medical staff between both locations. All these activities are now gathered and jointly coordinated under the umbrella of the EKC. 

The tradition of the Würzburg - Mwanza partnership goes back to the 1960ies. Starting from a city partnership, the cooperation has constantly expanded. Today it involves hospitals, universities and the city governments. It includes exchange programs at different levels, joint research projects, and cooperation in postgraduate clinical education. Going beyond Mwanza’s city borders, a community-focussed program to fight schistosomiasis – a parasitic disease affecting > 70% of people around Lake Victoria – was also implemented. 

Together with our Tanzanian partners from the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences (CUHAS) and the Bugando Medical Center (BMC) in Mwanza, and our Würzburg partners, the Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Association (DAHW), the University Hospital and the Medical Mission Institute, the Else Kröner Center for Advanced Medical & Medical Humanitarian Studies was founded as a sustainable structure to develop the cooperation between Mwanza and Würzburg to the next level. ​

Within the EKC, medical students from the University of Würzburg have the opportunity to apply for the exchange programs with our partner university in Tanzania.

The Else Kröner Center is funded by the Else Kröner-Fresenius-Foundation.