Maridi Hospital, South Sudan
From 1983 to 2005, civil war raged in Southern Sudan. The war claimed the lives of nearly 2 million civilians and displaced more than 3 million people. The conflict resulted in a tattered health system, a critical health worker shortage, and some of the worst health indicators in the world.
There are only 39 doctors (20 of whom work in private clinics) and 440 clinical officers (medical practitioners with post-secondary school training, capable of diagnosing and treating many common conditions) in Southern Sudan serving 9.7 million people.
In 1998, AMREF began the clinical officers' training program at the Maridi National Health Training Institute. AMREF’s Maridi training program is funded by USAID ASHA and consists of three one-year modules. Students take courses on several topics, from biology to surgery. In order to provide the students with real-life skills, one full year of the program is devoted to practical clinical work, which AMREF oversees at Maridi Hospital.
Main objectives of the project
In 1998, AMREF created the clinical officers training program at the Maridi National Health Training Institute. It aims to:
- Train clinical officers to diagnose and treat patients, conduct surgical operations, and educate communities
- Educate clinical officers on the core skills and competencies, which enable them to provide preventive and curative services to the rural population
- Graduate 40 clinical officers per year
- Employ a 100% South Sudanese team and eventually turn the program over to the South Sudan Ministry of Health
Key achievements
- From 1998 to 2010, AMREF trained a total of 350 clinical officers.
- This number represents approximately 80 percent of the clinical officers working in Southern Sudan.
- There are currently 133 students being trained at the Maridi National Health Training Institute.
- Around 40 clinical officers graduate each year.
- 99 percent of the graduated clinical officers still work in South Sudan.
- AMREF has expanded the Maridi Institute to include an 18-month program to train community midwives and a three-year program for environmental health officers.
- Today, about 55% of the teachers at the Maridi hospital are South Sudanese.
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