How Simple Care Saved Claude’s Life: A Story from Rural Tanzania

When 61-year-old Claude arrived at his local hospital in rural Tanzania, he was in a life-threatening condition. He was struggling to breathe, his cough had worsened over several days, and his legs were swollen. Claude was critically ill — but thankfully, the hospital staff had the tools and training to help him.

Claude received Essential Emergency and Critical Care (EECC) — a package of simple but life-saving actions that can be used in any hospital. The team started by checking his vital signs. They quickly noticed his breathing was very fast, and his oxygen levels were dangerously low. Before trying to find out exactly what was wrong, they focused on what mattered most: keeping Claude alive.

They gave him oxygen and admitted him to the ward. There, staff kept monitoring his vital signs and continued oxygen therapy. He was also started on antibiotics for pneumonia — a common but potentially deadly illness. Within days, Claude was already improving, but he still wasn’t fully better.

He was referred to a regional hospital for further care. Tests revealed the underlying cause: heart failure. With the right treatment for his heart, Claude recovered, no longer needed oxygen, and was finally able to return home to his family.

Claude’s story is a powerful example of how simple, timely care can save lives.

EECC focuses on the basics: checking vital signs, giving oxygen, supporting breathing, and treating infections. These aren’t high-tech or expensive interventions. They’re practical, affordable steps that any hospital can take to stabilise a patient. What matters is recognising critical illness early and acting fast.

Too often, patients like Claude don’t survive, not because their condition is untreatable, but because basic emergency and critical care is missing. In many hospitals around the world, critically ill patients aren’t identified quickly enough, or they don’t receive the right care when they desperately need it. This is where EECC makes a difference.

EECC Global works to promote and support these essential interventions, helping health systems around the world to provide the care that every critically ill patient deserves — no matter who they are or where they live.

Claude lived because his local hospital followed the EECC approach. They didn’t wait for a perfect diagnosis. They acted early, provided oxygen, monitored his progress, and referred him when he needed more specialised care. These simple steps gave Claude a second chance.

Essential emergency and critical care is not complicated. It’s not expensive. But it is essential. And it saves lives.