There are eight cutting-edge stadiums that host the games. These stadia are the crown jewels of the infrastructure, which cost millions of dollars to build. The Tanzanian engineer honoured recently for the completion of the main stadium in Doha, tells his story.
The World Cup 2022 is upon us. Yesterday, the first whistle was blown to kick off the month-long global football bonanza in Doha as the host nation, Qatar, lost 2-0 to the South American team from Ecuador.
The World Cup 2022 infrastructure, which has cost millions of dollars, is quite a spectacle to behold, with the eight state-of-the-art stadiums that host the games at the top of the list.
A total of eight stadiums spread across five Qatari cities will host 32 teams in 64 matches during this year’s FIFA World Cup.
But as over a billion television viewers marvel at the beauty of the game and the engineering accomplishments that the Gulf state has managed to put together, one man will be watching the proceedings with unmatched contentment.
His story stands out for he was part of it all from the very beginning.
Tanzanian Saeed Abdullah Bakhresa’s name crops up when the 80,000-capacity Lusail Stadium in Doha, the main stadium, is mentioned.
Engineer Bakhresa, one of many expatriate workers recruited to deliver what seemed like an impossible mission at one point, demonstrated his management and engineering skills as the Engineering Manager for the two and a half-year project, which is also the biggest stadium in Qatar, and where the final match will be played.
Last month, he was honoured for the completion and delivery of the Lusail Stadium in record time.
The Lusail Stadium reportedly cost $767 million (Sh1.7 trillion) to build and will host 10 matches throughout the World Cup, starting with Argentina versus Saudi Arabia on November 22.
“I joined the project in 2017, and we delivered quite on time. As the manager, I was tasked with planning and overseeing all the engineering works to deliver the required construction information and materials to the site teams as per specifications and the required schedule,” he says.
He adds: “I was leading and managing the engineering department to ensure we provide information to the site teams via drawings, materials, and 3D images to ensure we meet the construction schedule as planned.”
Speaking from his base in the UK, Bakhressa, who was until recently the project director of the real estate housing project Fumba Town Uptown Living in Zanzibar, says it was not an easy task to deliver a project of that magnitude on record time.
According to Bakhresa, a nephew of renowned businessman Said Salim Bakhresa, the stadium, which was built by a joint venture of the HBKCRCC (HBK Contracting and China Railway Construction Corporation), will live on in the memories of present and future generations.
“To me, it was an honour and privilege to be part of the team that delivered such an iconic landmark in Qatar that will be remembered by the whole world for a long time to come,” he says with a knowing smile. Despite the fact that the project was delivered to the taste of the contractors and the funders at certain times they had to take calculated risks.
“The design was lagging behind. So we had to take a calculated risk and commence construction before the design was approved, and probably this is where the schedule was won,” says Engineer Bakhresa. But, as the world descends on Qatar for the first winter World Cup, one question has remained unanswered: the issue of human rights violations against migrant workers in the Gulf state.
This, he says, was not what he saw during the construction of Lusail; in fact, he says the migrant workers were their driving force during the entire period of construction.
“To be honest, migrant workers were provided with the best facilities you can ever imagine, from accommodation to food to other facilities such as computers and games,” he says.
Engineer Bakhresa studied secondary education in Kenya before going to Hungary University for a bachelor’s degree and then to Manchester University for a master’s degree. His rich profile includes a stint in Saudi Arabia, where he worked on projects ranging from universities, football stadiums, arenas, and housing complexes with more than 10,000 housing units in 14 different sites across Saudi Arabia.
He has also worked in the United Kingdom for eight years as a young design engineer and is a chartered and registered structural engineer.
As for Lusail Stadium, upon completion of the World Cup on December 18, it will be transformed into a community space with schools, shops, cafés, sporting facilities, and health clinics.
Share this news
This Year’s Most Read News Stories
Tanzania can benefit from strategic investment in national pride
Travelling to a few places so far, I discovered that the Tanzanian passport can change the way one is treated at airports and international bordersContinue Reading
Zanzibar airport monopoly puts 600 jobs at risk
On September 14, 2022, the director general of ZAA issued a directive that gave Dnata Zanzibar Aviation Services Limited an exclusive access to the newly constructed Terminal III, barring other operators.Continue Reading
Inside Tanzania’s Life-Saving Birthcare Model
Tanzania is winning the battle against maternal and newborn deaths, as the latest numbers reveal a significant decline.
“Tanzania is committed to reducing maternal and newborn mortality and ensuring safe deliveries as part of the national development plan. The Safer Births Bundle of Care is one of the key strategies supporting this effort,” said Dr. Benjamin Kamala, the Senior Research Scientist at Haydom Lutheran Hospital and Principal Investigator for the program, leading its implementation across five regions in Tanzania.
A groundbreaking study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that the innovative health program in Tanzania – centered on regular, on-the-job training for healthcare workers – reduced maternal deaths by 75% and early newborn deaths by 40%. The three-year study, conducted across 30 high-burden healthcare facilities in Tanzania, tracked approximately 300,000 mother-baby pairs under the Safer Births Bundle of Care (SBBC) programme. The programme focuses on improving care for mothers and babies during the day of birth, the critical time when a woman goes into labor and delivers her baby.
Maternal health is a key focus of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Target 3.1, which aims to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to fewer than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.
Tanzania’s program combines continuous, simulation-based training for frontline healthcare workers alongside innovative clinical tools to improve labour monitoring (fetal heart rate monitoring) and newborn resuscitation.It also uses data to drive ongoing improvements, ensuring that healthcare workers have the skills, confidence, and competence to manage birth-related complications for both mothers and newborns.
“We work closely with healthcare workers, equipping them with the necessary tools to improve the quality of care, ensuring they can effectively manage both mothers and babies during and after childbirth,” Dr. Kamala said, which helps them build on over a decade of innovative research and collaboration to improve care during childbirth.
“To give you a sense of the scale of the burden of maternal and newborn mortality in Tanzania when the Safer Births Bundles of Care program was in early development in 2015/16, there were around 556 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births and 25 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births,” he said.
The published study demonstrates the “transformative impact” of the Safer Births Bundle of Care program conducted across 30 hospitals in five high-burden regions of Tanzania, where there were about 300,000 mother-baby pairs.
Maternal deaths at the start of the program were recorded at 240 per 100,000 live births, with postpartum hemorrhage and hypertensive disorders being the leading causes of death, he said. Over the 24-month study period, this number dropped to approximately 60 per 100,000 live births, representing a 75% reduction. The number of newborn deaths – which are primarily due to breathing difficulties and complications related to prematurity – declined by 40% – from 7 deaths per 1,000 live births to 4 deaths per 1,000 live births.
“These results are remarkable,” Dr. Kamala said.
According to Dr. Kamala, the 75% reduction in maternal deaths was not expected, and a key lesson was the important role of the in-situ team simulations – including for postpartum bleeding – with reflective debriefings that trained facilitators led.
“This seems to be a major part of the success of the program,” he said. “We are delighted by these results and hope that other countries adopt and scale the Safer Births Bundle of Care program… Beyond the numbers, the Safer Births Bundle of Care program has fostered a dramatic culture shift in our healthcare system,” he said. “Healthcare workers are now more confident and better equipped to handle birth-related complications for both mothers and babies.”
Maternal death drop
Dr. Kamala attributed the 60-70% reduction in newborn deaths in Geita and Manyara to several factors.
“Firstly, Manyara was the first site for implementation, giving the region more time to adapt and experience the impact of the program. Most importantly, both regions had a high burden of stillbirths and neonatal deaths, making them ideal targets for focused intervention. As a result, newborn deaths decreased by 60-70%, showcasing a clear positive impact on newborn survival,” he said.
Dr. Kamala said another possible explanation is the differences in the culture of practices, where some health facilities reported inaccurate data due to the fear of blame and shame. However, with the project’s implementation, reporting became more accurate after mplementation. Some regions, such as Tabora, reported an increase in the number of referrals to the study hospitals from other care centers after the program was implemented. These were more likely to be late admissions, which increase the likelihood of poor health outcomes, he said.
After the implementation of the program, there was a 40% decrease in newborn deaths within the first 24 hours after birth, according to the study.
Dr. Kamala said Tanzania’s remarkable progress in reducing maternal mortality by 80% is driven by strategic investments and innovative programs focused on improving maternal and child survival rates.
“Over 2,000 new healthcare facilities have been developed, free health services are being provided to expectant mothers and children under the age of five, and emergency obstetric care – including better transport to hospitals in rural areas are helping to ensure timely, life-saving interventions.
“Most importantly, the Ministry of Health works in collaboration with healthcare workers, hospitals, and development partners to strengthen the skills of frontline healthcare workers, which has been a key factor in driving this progress.
“Political leadership, alongside strategic partnerships and financing, has been crucial in driving progress in maternal and newborn health,” he said.
The program was made possible by the support of the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents, Norad, UNICEF, and Laerdal Global Health, as well as the Ministry of Health and Haydom Lutheran Hospital. Their partnership and investment enabled the scaling of the Safer Births Bundle of Care to 30 hospitals and supported the research. “The government has now scaled the program to over 150 sites, and there are plans for further expansion to three regions this year and then nationally,” he said.
Dr. Kamala outlined key policy recommendations for other governments can adopt to prioritize maternal health.
“Firstly, it focuses on cost-effective and relatively simple interventions that are essential to preventing maternal and newborn deaths. For example, stronger primary healthcare that is delivered in the community and a well-trained healthcare workforce are also critical. Additionally, working in close collaboration with national, regional, and local health authorities is key.”
He said Tanzania’s approach, where the Safer Births Bundle of Care program was successfully scaled and sustained by aligning the initiative with national guidelines for obstetrical and newborn care. In addition, the creation of mentorship programs and regular supervision has helped to sustain the results.
Looking ahead
Tanzania now plans to expand to three new regions in 2025, followed by a nationwide rollout.
The success of the program has attracted interest from other countries, with Botswana, Ethiopia, Lesotho, and Namibia expressing interest in adapting the program to their healthcare system. In Nigeria, the program has already been launched in two states, Gombe and Borno, marking a significant step in its scaling.
Source: allafrica.com
