Since 1987, the East Africa Medical Assistance Foundation has been raising funds and recruiting volunteers to provide medical education and training, medical equipment, and medical care in Tanzania, a country with a growing population and a lack of health care resources.

Our major focus is on radiology skills and equipment, which is vital for medical diagnosis and therapy but in short supply in developing countries. For example, Tanzania, a country with a population of roughly 36.8 million people, has a total of 12 radiologists. Also, because of its technical and equipment-intensive nature, and the lack of resources and training available in the area, radiology has been the "Achilles Heel" of health care in developing countries such as Tanzania.

Our efforts in Tanzania are headed by Dr. Helmut Diefenthal, a member of our board and a retired University of Minnesota Assistant Professor of Radiology. Dr. Diefenthal, along with his wife, Rotraut, has spent 22 years in Tanzania, first working four years in a rural hospital and then working at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC) in Moshi where they have been full time since 1988. They have established a radiologic and consulting practice.

In 1991, Dr. Diefenthal sponsored an international conference, "Ultrasound In Africa," hosted by the medical center.

Also in 1991, the Tanzanian government requested that Dr. Diefenthal and his Tanzanian associate at the medical center, Dr. A.P. S. Lyimo, organize a school at KCMC and establish a residency program to train assistant medical officers in radiology. The Kilimanjaro School of Radiology opened in 1993, along with a dormitory for students and visitors. It continues to operate under the direction of Dr. Diefenthal, aided by volunteer physicians who visit from the United States and elsewhere.

In October 1997, the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College opened at the medical center, offering an undergraduate training program – have now (2006) trained 29 AMO Radiologists and 4 MD Radiologists and complete curriculum for a graduate program.