AMREF Trains Health Workers
The Issue
At the root of Africa’s health crisis is a critical shortage of health workers – the fewest, globally, per capita. In the UK, for example, there are 250 doctors per 100,000 people while in Sudan, only 16.
‘Brain drain’ is part of the problem. Health workers are often underpaid and underequipped to meet demand for their services, especially in rural and slum areas where the burden of care is heaviest. Understandably, they are drawn to better-paying jobs in the major cities and abroad.
To make matters worse, many African countries simply do not have the capacity to train enough doctors, nurses, and clinical officers. Demand is high and tuition can be prohibitively expensive.
Yet the problem isn’t as insurmountable as you might think.
AMREF's Approach
Did you know that a single nurse will save approximately one thousand lives over the course of her career? That in three years and for approximately £4,000 per year, a clinical officer can be equipped with the skills and knowledge to perform 70% of the duties of a physician in a rural area? Or that for about £350 a villager can be trained to provide basic health education and medical referrals to his community?
Every year AMREF trains over 10,000 health workers from across Africa.
We train doctors, nurses, clinical officers, midwives, laboratory technicians, and community health workers. Whether we’re teaching surgeons how to repair trachoma or fistula, or helping village health team to stage educational dramas about handwashing, we provide health workers with the tools they need to make a difference.
Projects & Stories
Our Work Upgrading 20,000 Nurses
In 2008-09, our e-Learning Programme helped 5,448 Kenyan nurses to upgrade their skills while on the job. Unlike traditional training, the eLearning programme is flexible, enabling students to learn anytime and anywhere, and without the need to stop working while they upgrade their skills.
Our Work Bringing Hope - and Talk Radio - to Katine
Since 2007, the Mtwara Malaria Control Programme has distributed over 9,000 insecticide-treated bednets in the malaria-prone coastal region of Tanzania. Over 90% of young children, nearly 80% of mothers, and 50% of fathers now sleep under nets. Malaria deaths have dropped significantly among mothers and children as a result.
Our Work Protecting Mothers and Children from Malaria in Coastal Tanzania
Since 2007, the Mtwara Malaria Control Programme has distributed over 9,000 insecticide-treated bednets in the malaria-prone coastal region of Tanzania. Over 90% of young children, nearly 80% of mothers, and 50% of fathers now sleep under nets. Malaria deaths have dropped significantly among mothers and children as a result.
Interview Dr. Peter Ngatia on Africa's Health Worker Crisis
Africa’s health worker crisis continued to be one of the focal points of our research and advocacy work. In this interview, AMREF’s director of capacity-buildin, talks about the health care crisis and some possible solutions. Dr. Ngatia has over the course of his professional life conducted numerous research projects on the issue of human resources in health.
Photo: Tyler Stiem/AMREF