Every week, AMREF flies specialist and reconstructive surgeons to various remote and hard-to-reach hospitals in eastern Africa. Whilst handling surgical cases which local doctors are unable to perform, the main purpose of this outreach programme is to train and strengthen the skills of the local doctors and medical staff.
On each 3-5 day visit, AMREF surgeons perform a wide variety of operations, including skin grafts and cleft palate surgery, and train the local doctors as they work. In addition, they carry out classroom training sessions on subjects of the local doctors’ choice.
All training is relevant and specific to the needs of each hospital. Doctors are trained to perform surgery using locally available equipment, and instructed on how to make the best use of existing resources.
Each year, AMREF surgeons train over 1,000 doctors in more than 100 remote hospitals in seven African countries. This training programme has been running without interruption since AMREF was founded in 1957.
