AMREF’s mission is to empower the people of Africa, through better health, to escape poverty and improve the quality of their lives.
AMREF was founded in 1957 as the Flying Doctors of East Africa. Since then, we have been creating simple and cost-effective health solutions that transform the lives of families and communities across Africa. Today, we are the premier Africa-based health development organization with health programs, training, and technical support spanning across more than 30 African countries.
The stories of disaster in Africa are all too familiar. However, behind the news headlines there are millions of Africans who are working tirelessly to take control of their health and their lives – and, with help from organizations like the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), they are succeeding.
AMREF is the largest non-governmental health development organization based in Africa. We manage a full range of medical and public health programs focused on the most vulnerable populations – women and children – and the most critical health issues facing the African continent today:
| | • HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis | • Family health • Training health workers • Clinical and surgical outreach |
As an Africa-based organization, we understand that, to achieve lasting provision of health services on the continent, it is essential to build up local health systems.
We are planting the seeds of local and accessible health care, and those seeds take root best when they are planted by fellow Africans. That’s why 97% of our employees are African. Our projects are sensitive to local needs and customs, and because of this, communities trust us to develop health solutions that make them partners rather than beneficiaries only.
With the support of our dedicated staff, volunteers, partners, and generous donors, over the years, we have trained hundreds of thousands of health care workers. Our doctors have performed well over 100,000 major operations; and our projects have improved and extended the lives of millions of African women, children, and men.
AMREF USA raises critically needed funds for our work in Africa. We also seek to raise public awareness about AMREF’s vital and unique contribution to improving health for Africans by Africans.
AMREF USA is registered with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (C)(3) organization and contributions to AMREF USA are tax deductible to the maximum extent permitted under the law.
