Stephen Swanson, MD

Dr. Stephen J. Swanson is an associate professor of pediatrics who trained in pediatric infectious diseases, tropical medicine, and public health/epidemiology.  Dr Swanson graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1997, and subsequently completed residency at Children’s Hospital and Research Centre at Oakland.  He was a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalist at Stanford University Hospital before completing a postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric infectious disease at Washington University School of Medicine and serving as an Epidemiology Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

Since 2013, Dr Swanson has worked full-time in Arusha, Tanzania.  He is the founder and medical director of the NICU at Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre (ALMC), where he has been active in developing numerous neonatology protocols and training physicians and nurses in Africa on the management of severely ill and preterm neonates.  

Over the years, this wonderful Tanzanian team of doctors and nurses has managed to achieve a survival rate of 85% for preterm newborns born at 26 weeks’ gestation and older, and without known congenital anomalies.  These accomplishments are without the use of mechanical ventilators or expensive equipment, and emphasize a low-technology, team approach to NICU care.  

In 2021, Dr Swanson co-authored the NICU book, “Every Breath Counts Manual of Neonatal Care & Drug Doses” for East African hospitals, coinciding launching an annual African neonatology training conference held in Tanzania.  Now in its 5th year, the Tiny Feet, Big Steps—Advancing Care of Critically Ill and Premature Babies in Africa conference has trained over 650 healthcare professionals from among 20 African countries and 160 hospitals, co-training them in practical neonatology protocols and skills, and easily implementable solutions to improve their NICU survival and outcomes.  

Dr. Swanson also serves as consultant in Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases at in Arusha Tanzania.  He remains on faculty at University of Minnesota Department of Pediatrics, Global Pediatrics Program.