Our Story
ICHA was founded by Dr. Stephen and Jodi Swanson to increase evidence-based, compassionate medical care to children through education and research.
Tiny Feet, Big Steps Conferences grew out of this work.
Humble Beginnings
In 2013, Dr. Stephen Swanson and Jodi moved with their family to Tanzania. As an academic pediatrician and infectious disease physician, Steve initially expected his work in East Africa to resemble his career in the United States—focused on hospital pediatrics and research. However, he soon realized that the pediatric infectious diseases he was familiar with were no longer the leading causes of childhood death in the region. Instead, newborn conditions such as prematurity, sepsis, and birth asphyxia became the primary challenges in the fight for survival.
Babies were born or transferred to their hospital each day, small and fragile, struggling to breathe and stay alive. The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the hospital where Dr Steve served grew out of this urgent need. While mistakes were made and losses faced, a strong conviction emerged within the team: every baby deserves a chance to go home, and every breath counts, no matter how small.
Building a Model NICU
Over the past decade, this conviction has translated into remarkable results. Today, more than 90% of the babies in the NICU survive—including those born extremely premature, weighing less than 2.2 pounds (1,000 grams). Most of these children grow into bright, active, and healthy individuals. More than 2,500 babies are alive today because of this approach.
Dr. Swanson and his team have achieved these outcomes not through expensive machines or technology ill-suited for their setting, but through evidence-based, low-cost, and context-appropriate care. They focus on protocols tailored to their hospital, mentorship of nurses and physicians, elevating the role of Tanzanian nurses, and empowering mothers to be directly involved in their baby’s care. Their experience demonstrates that equipment alone does not save babies—skilled doctors, nurses, and families do.
Training Clinical Specialists in Neonatology
Recognizing that the knowledge and practices developed at ICHA had the potential to be replicated across Africa through focused education and training, we published a 400-page handbook, Every Breath Counts, Manual of Neonatal Care & Drug Doses, and we launched a Tiny Feet, Big Steps conference in Arusha. We will be expanding the conference to Ethiopia, Uganda, and Ghana—strategically training and empowering medical professionals across the continent, fostering sustainable improvements in neonatal care.
We invite you to join us in this journey.
With your partnership, we can save thousands more lives. Together, we can ensure that even the smallest babies in sub-Saharan Africa have the chance to grow, thrive, and go home healthy.
Tiny Feet, Big Steps Conferences grew out of this work.
Humble Beginnings
In 2013, Dr. Stephen Swanson and Jodi moved with their family to Tanzania. As an academic pediatrician and infectious disease physician, Steve initially expected his work in East Africa to resemble his career in the United States—focused on hospital pediatrics and research. However, he soon realized that the pediatric infectious diseases he was familiar with were no longer the leading causes of childhood death in the region. Instead, newborn conditions such as prematurity, sepsis, and birth asphyxia became the primary challenges in the fight for survival.
Babies were born or transferred to their hospital each day, small and fragile, struggling to breathe and stay alive. The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the hospital where Dr Steve served grew out of this urgent need. While mistakes were made and losses faced, a strong conviction emerged within the team: every baby deserves a chance to go home, and every breath counts, no matter how small.
Building a Model NICU
Over the past decade, this conviction has translated into remarkable results. Today, more than 90% of the babies in the NICU survive—including those born extremely premature, weighing less than 2.2 pounds (1,000 grams). Most of these children grow into bright, active, and healthy individuals. More than 2,500 babies are alive today because of this approach.
Dr. Swanson and his team have achieved these outcomes not through expensive machines or technology ill-suited for their setting, but through evidence-based, low-cost, and context-appropriate care. They focus on protocols tailored to their hospital, mentorship of nurses and physicians, elevating the role of Tanzanian nurses, and empowering mothers to be directly involved in their baby’s care. Their experience demonstrates that equipment alone does not save babies—skilled doctors, nurses, and families do.
Training Clinical Specialists in Neonatology
Recognizing that the knowledge and practices developed at ICHA had the potential to be replicated across Africa through focused education and training, we published a 400-page handbook, Every Breath Counts, Manual of Neonatal Care & Drug Doses, and we launched a Tiny Feet, Big Steps conference in Arusha. We will be expanding the conference to Ethiopia, Uganda, and Ghana—strategically training and empowering medical professionals across the continent, fostering sustainable improvements in neonatal care.
We invite you to join us in this journey.
With your partnership, we can save thousands more lives. Together, we can ensure that even the smallest babies in sub-Saharan Africa have the chance to grow, thrive, and go home healthy.
|
Who We Are
Steve is a board-certified pediatric and infectious disease physician and serves in the care of children at Arusha Lutheran Medical Center (ALMC), Selian Lutheran Hospital and soon, the Arusha Pediatric and Maternity Centre in northern Tanzania. Jodi, a pediatric nurse, participates in the care and management of severe acute childhood malnutrition in the hospital and community, as well as being active in nursing and health education and training community health workers. The approach that Steve and Jodi take focuses on education and training and the use of resource appropriate technology. |
|
Join our newsletterWe’ll keep you up to date on how ICHA and the Tiny Feet Big Steps Neonatology Conferences are transforming child healthcare across Africa—one baby, one caregiver, one breakthrough at a time.
From grassroots stories of resilience to the growth of the Arusha Pediatric & Maternity Centre, you’ll receive updates that keep you informed, inspired, and involved. |
|
