Change in leadership at CCBRT in Tanzania

Geert Vanneste has handed over his duties as Chief Executive Officer of CCBRT - Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania - to Erwin Telemans in October 2006. He will continue to advise CBM and other organizations in the future.

Geert Vanneste’s experience of more than 20 years and broad knowledge in the fields of disability, development and HIV will remain an important resource, as he is still advisor to CCBRT and CBM, working from Dar es Salaam. In due time he will continue to assist CBM, as well as other organisations, on a consultancy basis.

Geert Vanneste started CCBRT in 1994 with two other founders: Dr. Willibrod Slaa, who is still the Chairperson of the Board today, and Dan Ward, CBM's Regional Director for the East Africa Region.

CCBRT started with community based rehabilitation (CBR) at the homes of persons who were blind, or where there was a child with physical disabilities. The community workers met with many persons who would be best assisted with a surgery to cure their problem, e.g. cataract, clubfeet, fistula and cleft lip or to greatly improve their capacity, e.g. children with spina bifida, post-burn scars and contractions, also the need for an orthopedic appliance, or artificial leg.

Because the need was so big, and only few services were available, the Disability Hospital was built in 2000. The Tanzanian government provided the entire grounds for the hospital. The hospital implements a system of 'payment according to capacity', thus receiving an income from the patients themselves as well, but in line with what they can pay. The high quality medical service attracts also middle class persons and they thus provide for an important part of the income.

In these very same years, Geert Vanneste and the CCBRT colleagues did not only expand the CBR programme (more children, working in groups with parents and children, working in integrated education) and build the Disability Hospital. Also a HIV/Aids programme was started in close collaboration with the city medical authorities. Education/ prevention, Voluntary Testing & Counseling, Home Based Care, Legal Aid and in the last years, the provision of ART (Anti Retro Viral Treatment) were set up in 1996 and further developed since then. This work will be further continued in collaboration with the Tanzanian government.

In these first years of the Disability Hospital thousands of persons and their families have benefited from the services. In the year 2005 the Eye Deptartment performed 6,340 surgeries and 1,239 orthopaedic surgeries were performed at the Rehabilitation Dept. The Disability Hospital undertook 60,495 consultations in 2005, of which 60% were with new patients.

During a leave-taking ceremony, Geert Vanneste expressed his thanks and gratitude to all the patients and their families, the CCBRT staff, CCBRT Board and his fellow founders, and to the donors. Erwin Telemans expressed his enthusiasm to take over the CEO position and the lead for CCBRT.

In the name of the whole of CBM, Prof. Dr. Allen Foster, President of CBM, and Matthias Späth, Vice President for Programme and Partner Development, would like to thank Geert Vanneste for his long lasting strong commitment and dedicated services which led to excellent achievements throughout the years of work with CBM. CBM wishes him all the best and further success for his future.

For more information visit the CCBRT website

CCBRT Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation - All Programmes
CCBRT Orthopedic Department
CCBRT HIV/AIDS related programme
CCBRT International Training Programme
CCBRT Disability Hospital Eye Department
CCBRT Kilimanjaro CBR
CCBRT Antiretroviral Therapy