AMREF Specialist Outreach Programme

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AMREF - Specialist Outreach Programme

• Dr Festus Ilako, MD

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AMREF Training Center
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Project Goal

• Better access to specialized healthcare for the
  disadvantaged rural communities in East Africa.

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Objectives of the Specialist outreach programme

• To train and supervise rural health workers.
• To provide specialized health care to patients in
  remote rural hospitals through regular
  pre-planned visits.
• To improve health care at district level.

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Outreach projects?

• Specialist outreach programme Kenya and Tanzania
• Surgical outreach in East Africa
• VVF project in Tanzania
• Reconstructive surgery outreach
• Medical radio communication
• Laboratory programme

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Location and beneficiaries

• Project areaKenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda,
  South Sudan and Somalia.
• BeneficiariesDirect Patients, rural health
  workers and remote district hospitals in East
  Africa.
• Indirect Local specialists, teaching hospitals
  and rural communities

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Main activities

• Specialist technical assistance to isolated rural
  hospitals in East Africa.
• Regular pre-planned visits by specialists
• Continuing professional development of rural
  health workers through training.
• Supervision, morale support, monitoring and
  external quality control.

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Main activities cont.

• Support with essential health supplies, drugs,
  consumables and logistics.
• Maintenance of Medical radio communication
  network.
• Operations Research
• Management and Liaison

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Resources

• Human Resources
• Three surgeons
• One internist/programme manager
• A nurse coordinator.
• Over 150 local Specialists from four teaching
  hospitals
• AMREF aircraft, pilots and engineers

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Funding

• The Current donors are
• AMREF National offices
• AMREF- Germany, Netherlands,Italy, USA, UK, and
  Austria.
• Flying Doctors Society of Africa
• European Union
• Individual donors, local and abroad

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Challenges and Obstacles

• Poor rural health infrastructure
• High disease burden
• High poverty levels
• Poor communication infrastructure.
• Lack of qualified health personnel
• New and re-emerging diseases e.g. TB, malaria and
  HIV/AIDS.

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Weaknesses

• Emphasis on service provision in the past rather
  than capacity building.
• Lack of qualified health workers.
• Lack of specialists.
• Inadequate resources Financial, human, supplies
  and equipment.

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Achievements

• Over 10,000 patients seen and 3000 operative
  procedures performed annually
• (MF ratio is approximately 1.1(approx 1000
  Gynecological operations)
• Improved access, utilization equity of
  specialized health care rural district hospitals
  through regular visits.
• Capacities and skills of local medical officers,
  nurses, laboratory workers and specialists
  enhanced through training.

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Achievement cont.

• Improved communication between hospitals and
  AMREF.

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Future plans

• Integration of specialist outreach in regional
  and national health plans.
• Carry out collaborative Research
• Establish stronger partnerships with governments,
  NGOs, hospitals, private sector, specialists and
  donors
• Explore the use of modern communication
  technology to reach out to the poor with health
  information e.g. telemedicine,Internet , digital
  radio and e-mail.

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Thank you very muchAsante Sana

• For more information visit
• WWW.amref.org