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It’s 10 a.m. and the maternity ward at Lui Referral Hospital teems with patients. New and expectant mothers queue patiently in the hallways and waiting rooms. They wait to receive antenatal check-ups, fill prescriptions, even give birth.
In the middle of everything is Alice Taabu. One of only two qualified midwives at the 75-bed hospital, Alice calls her patients into the consultation room, one by one. They come from as far as two, three counties away.
“I attend up to 40 patients every day, another eight inpatients, as well as deliveries. It can be challenging, says Alice. especially when a delivery is due,” Alice says.
Alice handles the pressure well. She takes her patients’ histories, discusses the importance of a hospital delivery, counsels them on family issues, provides advice about nutrition, and performs physical examinations. At intervals she checks on the progress of patients in labour.
“I divide my time between the antenatal clinic and the delivery wards to monitor the mothers. When a delivery is due, I often have to abandon all else to attend to it.”
A few years ago, Alice could not have imagined she would be shouldering such responsibilities. She dropped out of secondary school after only a year because she couldn’t afford the fees. Medical training was a faraway dream.
But with support and encouragement from her family, Alice entered the AMREF-run Lui National Health Training Institute in 2006, where she trained as a community midwife. She graduated with her certificate in 2008.
“The training I received from AMREF has helped me a great deal,” she says, proudly. “I can tell when labour is obstructed; I can identify and deal with cases of post- partum bleeding. I can fix nasal-gastric tubes for feeding, I can even transfuse blood and set up intravenous lines.”
Alice is one of the building blocks of southern Sudan’s fledgling health system. Decades of civil war destroyed most of the region’s hospitals and health clinics. Many of the region’s health professionals fled the country, leaving fewer than 1,000 to serve a population of over 8 million.
Working with the Ministry of Health in southern Sudan, AMREF is helping to rebuild the health system from the ground up. Every year we train thousands of health workers like Alice, graduating midwives, laboratory technicians, nurse’s aides, clinical officers, and more.
“Before I was in darkness, but now I am in the light,” says Alice. “I am grateful to AMREF. Without their help, this would not be possible.”
Southern Sudan still needs health workers. But with talented, enthusiastic people like Alice in place, there is hope.
Our work in Sudan is supported by Direct Relief International. | 
Sub-chief John Losikiriat educates children about hygiene and sanitation Photo: Tyler Stiem/AMREF
Goal 1: Train 100 health workersGoal 2: Reduce malaria prevalenceGoal 3: Improve borehole coverageGoal 4: Immunize 100% of kids
Project Photos & Video (to be added)
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