African Medical and Research Foundation
Encyclopedia
The African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) was founded in 1957, by three surgeons as the Flying Doctors Service of East Africa
. Three doctors – Sir Michael Wood
, Archibald McIndoe
and Tom Rees – drew up a groundbreaking plan to provide medical assistance to remote regions of East Africa
, where they had all worked for many years as reconstructive surgeons. Spurred by what they had seen of the combined effects of poverty, tropical disease and a lack of adequate health services in East Africa, their collective vision was born in the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro.
In the early 1960s, ground-based mobile medical services were added, along with ‘flight clinics’ for the under-served and remote areas in Kajiado
and Narok
districts of Kenya.
By 1975, training and education for rural health workers were already a major part of AMREF's efforts. This included the development of health learning materials. In the late 1970s, AMREF continued providing mobile clinical and maternal and child health (MCH) services. It also started to focus on community-based health care (CBHC) and training community health workers to deliver primary health care.
During the 1980s, AMREF moved into community health development, closer collaboration with the ministries of health in the region, and cooperation with international aid agencies. This set the organisation’s course for the 1980s and beyond.
Greater emphasis was given to strengthening health systems and staff development, with special attention to health needs identified by communities themselves. AMREF staff gained experience in planning and the management of health services at a national level – expertise that has since been shared in-house with health ministries (the first was Uganda).
In the early 1990s AMREF established a unique year-long training course in community health. The 1990s also saw AMREF’s work expand to include disease control initiatives, focusing on malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB. During the mid 1990s, AMREF increased its focus on HIV/AIDS as it looked set to undo much of the progress made in health during the 20th century, and become a major burden to health systems in poor countries.
During the same period, in recognition of the need for partnerships at community level, AMREF engaged more with local groups to enable community-based planning, shared identification of issues and priorities, and efficient use of resources.
In recent years, AMREF has highlighted the fact that despite huge investments by donors in health products and delivery of health services, a large percentage of Africans still have limited access to sufficient and quality health care.
Working closely with African communities and governments, AMREF ensures that its health projects are relevant and sustainable.
AMREF work's with the some of the poorest and most marginalised people in Africa; those living in remote rural areas, urban slums, nomadic populations and areas affected by conflict. That's true.
Health services cannot function without sufficient numbers of skilled, motivated and supported health workers. Yet estimates suggest that Africa needs one million more health workers in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals
for health.
Every year AMREF trains more than 10,000 community health workers who bring health close closer to people’s homes in some of Africa’s most marginalised communities. They also train doctors, nurses, community midwives, clinical officers, laboratory technicians and pharmacists.
AMREF has learnt a great deal from its 50 years of experience working in and with some of the poorest and most marginalised communities and its advocacy work is imbued by lessons learnt in these communities. This evidence-based knowledge is used to inform, influence and advocate for change.
Conrad Hilton Humanitarian Award
The world’s largest humanitarian award which honors tireless commitment by AMREF to bring health care services to the most remote areas of the continent. The Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize was established by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in 1996. The annual $1.5 million dollar award honors a charitable or non-governmental organisation that has made extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering anywhere in the world.
The Flying Doctors of East Africa
The Flying Doctors of East Africa is a 1969 documentary film by Werner Herzog about the "flying doctors" service of the African Medical and Research Foundation in Tanzania, Kenya, and Nairobi...
. Three doctors – Sir Michael Wood
Sir Michael Wood
Sir Michael Wood was born on the January 28 1918 in the United Kingdom. He studied medicine, and in 1943 he qualified as a surgeon and soon after was married to Susan Buxton....
, Archibald McIndoe
Archibald McIndoe
Sir Archibald McIndoe CBE FRCS was a pioneering New Zealand plastic surgeon who worked for the Royal Air Force during World War II. He greatly improved the treatment and rehabilitation of badly burned aircrew.-Background:...
and Tom Rees – drew up a groundbreaking plan to provide medical assistance to remote regions of East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, where they had all worked for many years as reconstructive surgeons. Spurred by what they had seen of the combined effects of poverty, tropical disease and a lack of adequate health services in East Africa, their collective vision was born in the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro.
History
At that time, there was one doctor to every 30,000 people in East Africa – in Britain it was 1:1,000. Medical facilities were sparse, with rough terrain and often impassable roads making access to medical care difficult for people in rural and remote areas. As this was where the majority of the population lived, Archie, Tom and Michael saw an air-based service as the only way to get health care to remote communities. AMREF delivered mobile health services and provided mission hospitals with surgical support. A medical radio network was developed to coordinate the service, and provide communication.In the early 1960s, ground-based mobile medical services were added, along with ‘flight clinics’ for the under-served and remote areas in Kajiado
Kajiado
Kajiado is a town in the Rift Valley Province, Kenya. The town is located south of Nairobi, along the Nairobi – Arusha highway. Kajiado has an urban population of 8128 . Local people are predominantly of the Maasai tribe....
and Narok
Narok
Narok is an town west of Nairobi that supports Kenya's economy in south-west Kenya, along the Great Rift Valley. Narok is the district capital of the Narok County and stands as the major centre of commerce in the district. Narok has a population of around 40,000 people, mostly Maasai...
districts of Kenya.
By 1975, training and education for rural health workers were already a major part of AMREF's efforts. This included the development of health learning materials. In the late 1970s, AMREF continued providing mobile clinical and maternal and child health (MCH) services. It also started to focus on community-based health care (CBHC) and training community health workers to deliver primary health care.
During the 1980s, AMREF moved into community health development, closer collaboration with the ministries of health in the region, and cooperation with international aid agencies. This set the organisation’s course for the 1980s and beyond.
Greater emphasis was given to strengthening health systems and staff development, with special attention to health needs identified by communities themselves. AMREF staff gained experience in planning and the management of health services at a national level – expertise that has since been shared in-house with health ministries (the first was Uganda).
In the early 1990s AMREF established a unique year-long training course in community health. The 1990s also saw AMREF’s work expand to include disease control initiatives, focusing on malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB. During the mid 1990s, AMREF increased its focus on HIV/AIDS as it looked set to undo much of the progress made in health during the 20th century, and become a major burden to health systems in poor countries.
During the same period, in recognition of the need for partnerships at community level, AMREF engaged more with local groups to enable community-based planning, shared identification of issues and priorities, and efficient use of resources.
In recent years, AMREF has highlighted the fact that despite huge investments by donors in health products and delivery of health services, a large percentage of Africans still have limited access to sufficient and quality health care.
AMREF's Work
AMREF is bringing good quality and affordable health care closer to those who need it most - improving access to health treatment and preventing poor health through community education.Working closely with African communities and governments, AMREF ensures that its health projects are relevant and sustainable.
Create Healthy Communities
Communities are at the heart of AMREF’s work as AMREF works to enable communities live healthier lives.AMREF work's with the some of the poorest and most marginalised people in Africa; those living in remote rural areas, urban slums, nomadic populations and areas affected by conflict. That's true.
Fight Disease
AMREF is helping to fight Africa’s deepening health crisis – finding local, appropriate solutions to community health needs. Health spending in Africa is woefully inadequate. The continent bears 25% of the world’s ‘burden’ of disease, yet has only 3% of the world’s health workers and only 1% of global health expenditure. AMREF is challenging this on many fronts – not least by tackling the diseases themselves.Train Health Workers
AMREF is training health workers in close to 40 African countries and beyond. Through its training, AMREF aims to strengthen the capacity and capability of health and health-related professionals and institutions.Health services cannot function without sufficient numbers of skilled, motivated and supported health workers. Yet estimates suggest that Africa needs one million more health workers in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
for health.
Every year AMREF trains more than 10,000 community health workers who bring health close closer to people’s homes in some of Africa’s most marginalised communities. They also train doctors, nurses, community midwives, clinical officers, laboratory technicians and pharmacists.
Strengthen Health Systems
Despite an increase in health spending in Africa, many people have limited access to good quality health care, especially in remote and rural areas. The burden of diseases such as HIV, TB and malaria, lack of health workers and management and organisational failures have all had a devastating effect. AMREF takes a more holistic approach to health by focusing on the different components needed to deliver effective health care, including; formal health workers, community health workers, laboratories and drug supplies.Advocacy and Research
Long-term improvements in health will not be achieved through the delivery of health projects alone. AMREF sets out to influence those in power so that health policies, practices and financing better serve the needs of the poor.AMREF has learnt a great deal from its 50 years of experience working in and with some of the poorest and most marginalised communities and its advocacy work is imbued by lessons learnt in these communities. This evidence-based knowledge is used to inform, influence and advocate for change.
Awards
“AMREF has shown that indigenous solutions based on international science can address the toughest problems in the world, and serve as a beacon for Africa and for the world.” - The Global Health FundGates Award for Global Health - 2005
The award, worth $1 million, was established in 2000 by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, and is given annually to the organisation that they consider to have made a major and lasting contribution to the field of global health.Medical Honors Award - 2004
AMREF received the Medical Honors Award from Discovery Health Channel, USA for its extraordinary lifesaving work of nearly 50 years in improving the health of millions of people in Africa. Conrad Hilton Humanitarian AwardConrad N. Hilton Humanitarian PrizeThe Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is an American non-profit charitable foundation, established in 1944 by hotel entrepreneur Conrad N. Hilton. It remained relatively small until his death on January 3, 1979 when it was named the principal beneficiary of his estate...
- 1999
The world’s largest humanitarian award which honors tireless commitment by AMREF to bring health care services to the most remote areas of the continent. The Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize was established by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in 1996. The annual $1.5 million dollar award honors a charitable or non-governmental organisation that has made extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering anywhere in the world.See also
- Clinical officerClinical officerClinical officers are health care providers who practice modern medicine. They practice independently but may be supervised by a physician in some settings....
s, healthcare providers in Sub-saharan AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara... - Healthcare in KenyaHealthcare in KenyaKenya’s health care system is structured in a step-wise manner so that complicated cases are referred to a higher level. Gaps in the system are filled by private and church run units...