Moshi. The Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) has begun providing free medical care to venomous snakebite victims to ensure prompt treatment and curb preventable deaths.
The initiative, implemented in partnership with the Arusha-based Meserani Snake Park Clinic, aims to eliminate financial barriers to life-saving care.
Receiving a donation of antivenom doses on Sunday, August 16, 2026, the head of KCMC’s Accident and Emergency Department, Dr Francis Sakita, noted that the medication will significantly accelerate emergency response times.
"Patients exhibiting clinical signs requiring antivenom will receive it free of charge. Our medical staff has also undergone specialised training in antivenom administration and comprehensive snakebite management," said Dr Sakita.
Although KCMC receives only about 34 snakebite cases annually, Dr Sakita emphasised that immediate access to treatment remains critical.
Envenomation can severely compromise the circulatory and nervous systems, as well as cause extensive local tissue necrosis.
"Certain toxins induce systemic haemorrhage, whilst neurotoxic venom causes rapid paralysis affecting mobility and respiration, which can quickly prove fatal. In other cases, severe localised tissue decay spreads to adjacent areas," he explained.
He added that patients suffering from neurotoxic envenomation rarely reach hospital in time due to the rapid onset of paralysis, highlighting the critical importance of receiving specialised intervention within minutes of a strike.
"Most admissions present with severe coagulopathy or advancing tissue necrosis," noted Dr Sakita, adding that the broad-spectrum intravenous antivenom is specifically formulated against venomous species native to the Northern Zone.
Many cases originate from Arusha's Meserani area, where pastoralist and agricultural activities increase human-snake encounters.
Meserani Snake Park Clinic representative, Dr Jonas Nickel, stated that the partnership ensures vital therapeutics are decentralized to referral facilities, reducing mortality caused by delayed referral times across the region.
