Who is AMREF
AMREF is the leading health development organisation in Africa – saving and transforming people’s lives – in some of the poorest and most marginalised communities.
AMREF is a truly African organisation. Its headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya and there are country programmes in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. AMREF employs more than 700 people, 97% of whom are African.
What does AMREF do?
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.
Partnering with communities
AMREF listens to the concerns of the people it works with - from urban slum dwellers to remote nomadic herders - and works with them to develop health projects that are relevant to their specific needs, culture and circumstances.
Training health workers
AMREF provides basic health training to community health workers – who then return to provide basic health care and education in their communities. Many of these communities have no access to formal health care.
AMREF also trains and supports African health workers working in the formal sector and improves the standards of health centres, especially those in rural areas, training institutes and laboratories.
Strengthening health systems
Rather than concentrating on specific diseases, AMREF is working to strengthen Africa’s health systems - which include different components needed to deliver effective health care, such as; formal health workers, community health workers, laboratories and drug supplies. We are closing the gap that exists between health care at the community level and health care in the formal sector.
Innovation through partnership
Through its strong partnerships with communities, governments, private sector, bilateral and multilateral donors, international health organisations and academic institutions, AMREF develops innovative solutions for African health problems.
Sharing lessons to influence health policy and practice
AMREF conducts research to ensure that it learns lessons from the projects it carries out. Those that are effective are documented and shared with others, and where possible replicated on a larger scale by other organisations and governments. AMREF uses this evidence to influence health policy, practice and resource allocation in Africa and around the world.
AMREF’s heritage
Established in 1957, as the Flying Doctors of East Africa, AMREF used modern technology – planes and radios – to reach the 80% of rural Africans who had no access to basic health care. 50 years later, AMREF continues this tradition of finding innovative solutions to make significant improvements in African health care.
In 2005 AMREF became the first African organisation to receive the Gates Award for Global Health, in recognition of its extraordinary contribution to improving health in Africa’s poorest communities.
AMREF is the only non governmental organisation (NGO) represented on the Global Health Initiative of the World Economic Forum and is also represented on the board of the Global Health Workforce Alliance.
AMREF UK
Established in 1965, AMREF is one of 12 national offices in Europe and North America, AMREF UK’s goal is to increase the impact of AMREF in Africa by providing increased funding and improved technical support; by influencing policy and practice and by raising awareness of African health issues in the UK and relevant global forums.
Last year, for every £1 invested in fundraising, AMREF UK raised over £5 for projects in Africa.
AMREF UK has an open information policy - for more information on what that policy means in practice click here.