Medical doctor · PhD
Dr Jutta Jørgensen
Jutta combines many years of medical practice in Zanzibar with a career in international health. Her work spans family medicine, long-term conditions and stroke research, bringing a deep understanding of the island’s communities and healthcare services to ZanAid.
Clinical care in Zanzibar
Jutta’s clinical work includes family medicine and the care of people living with high blood pressure, diabetes and other long-term conditions. Her experience in Zanzibar connects the everyday needs of patients with a wider understanding of how healthcare is organised and accessed.
Her research has brought together colleagues at Mnazi Mmoja Referral Hospital and the University of Copenhagen. Working across clinical practice and public health gives her a broad perspective on illness, recovery and the support people need over time.
Medical training and early practice
Jutta completed her medical degree at the University of Copenhagen in 2006, having also earned a Master of African Studies there in 2004.
Her medical studies included a student placement at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College in Moshi in 2003. After qualifying, she worked in internal medicine at Selian Lutheran Hospital in Arusha, followed by internship posts in cardiology and orthopaedic surgery at Bispebjerg Hospital in Copenhagen in 2006–2007.
Alongside her studies and early medical career, she taught medical anatomy at the University of Copenhagen, where she worked as an assistant teacher from 2001 to 2007.
Experience across East Africa
Jutta spent approximately six years as a Danida advisor, employed by Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and working within Zanzibar’s Ministry of Health. She has also worked for Partners in Health in Nairobi and D-tree in Zanzibar.
At ZanAid, she draws on that experience in caring for residents and visitors, including people managing ongoing health conditions while away from home.
Stroke in Zanzibar
Jutta’s PhD dissertation, Stroke in Zanzibar, reflects her longstanding commitment to understanding stroke and improving care on the island. As principal investigator of ZanStroke, she has brought together research on who is affected, how people reach treatment, and what happens during recovery.
Through the Zanzibar Stroke Study and subsequent research, she has explored stroke admissions, survival and disability, as well as the influence of social and economic circumstances on outcomes. Her work also examines the barriers faced by healthcare teams delivering treatment and follow-up at Mnazi Mmoja.
Her wider research includes high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular risk. Across these areas, the central concern is access to care: recognising illness, receiving appropriate treatment and being supported through the months and years that follow.
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