Isingiro Hospital

Set in North West Tanzania Isingiro Hospital is a subdued tale about fate and the daily struggle for survival. Its central character is Jessica, a 15 year old girl who has been raped, made pregnant and infected with AIDS. We see Jessica age many years as she realises the terrible truth of her fate and that of her baby.

Social Interest

Isingiro Hospital is a tiny rural hospital, located in one of the poorest and most isolated parts of Africa, where malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS are endemic. Despite the remarkable efforts of the Tanzanian medical team, which manages to keep the hospital going in possibly the worst conceivable circumstances, ‘Isingiro Hospital` is not a story about heroes. Instead it is a straightforward and honest documentary about hospital conditions in rural Tanzania. It is not pretty but it’s realistic.

Current Relevance

An estimated 24.5 million adults and children were living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa at the end of 2005 (6.1% of the total population). During that year, an estimated 2 million people died from AIDS. The epidemic has left behind some 12 million orphaned African children (9%). In Tanzania alone an estimated 1.4 million adults and children are living with aids of which 710.000 are women and 110.000 are children. About 1.1 million children are orphaned due to AIDS Sources: UNAIDS report 2006.

Awards

Dutch Academy Awards Best Documentary 1993

Scenes

Tanzanian medicine man at work
In this clip we see a local medicine man at work in the Kagera province inTanzania. He is trying to get into contact with an oracle.
TB patient in Tanzanian hospital
A patient at the Isingiro Hospital in Tanzania explains that he’s been committed because of his TB. According to him, a lot of ill people still go to the medicine man instead of the hospital.
Malaria and modern medicine in Tanzania
According to the people in this clip, malaria is a very big problem in Tanzania. A lot of people suffer from this disease. Here, the men state that the modern medicines against malaria work well.
Tanzanian traditional medicine man and hospital
A traditional local medicine man talks about his gift. He claims he is able to heal all kinds of diseases, including TB. The medicine man works nearby the isingiro hospital, and he states that his work is complementary to the work of the hospital.
Sterilization of women in Tanzanian hospital
A woman is in the Isingiro Hospital in Tanzania to get a sterilization. She and her husband don’t want to have more children, because they feel they have had enough. Still, sterilization appears to be a difficult subject in their hometowns.
Tanzanian medicine man about AIDS
A Tanzanian traditional medicine man gives his view on AIDS. He feels that the disease is a very big threat to the African people. Like a lot of people in his environment, he also has AIDS.