Southern Sudan headed to the polls on January 9, 2011 to vote in a referendum on whether or not to separate from the North.
AMREF has a long history of working in Southern Sudan. We are collaborating closely with the United Nations coordinating plans for humanitarian interventions if needed after the referendum.
AMREF's work in Southern Sudan
Two decades of civil war in Southern Sudan, from 1983 to 2005, resulted in a tattered health system, a critical health worker shortage, and some of the worst health indicators in the world.
During the war, AMREF began training clinical officers, health professionals educated at one fifth of the normal cost of training a physician who are able to carry out 70% of the work a physician does, at the Maridi and the Lui National Health Training Institutes. Though the training was disrupted during the fighting, AMREF continued to educateclinical officers and community midwives.
Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that granted Southern Sudan semi-autonomy in 2005, AMREF, at the request of the Ministry of Health, developed standardized curricula for the training of community midwives, clinical officers, nurses, and community health workers. The standardization has helped the government harmonize its training system.
Clinical Officers and other health personnel trained by AMREF, including public health and environmental officers, community midwives and nurses, are helping local health authorities take good-quality health care to their people so that they can be healthier and more productive.
To learn more about AMREF's work training clinical officers in Southern Sudan read the report Retention of Clinical Officers in Southern Sudan.
