Australian Doctors for Africa

Last updated September 06, 2019

Australian Doctors for Africa (ADFA) is a licensed charity registered in Western Australia. Established in November 2005 by orthopaedic surgeon Dr Graham Forward, ADFA is a non-profit community-based organisation with its headquarters located in Perth, Western Australia. It has no political affiliations. The goals of ADFA are to provide medical supplies, equipment, consult, undertake surgical procedures, disseminate best practice in health care, up skill, in-service and teach local medical and hospital staff and to assess future training needs of local staff to build capacity and maintain sustainable programmes and projects.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

A charitable organization or charity is a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being.

Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, and the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia's largest state, with a total land area of 2,529,875 square kilometres, and the second-largest country subdivision in the world, surpassed only by Russia's Sakha Republic. The state has about 2.6 million inhabitants – around 11 percent of the national total – of whom the vast majority live in the south-west corner, 79 per cent of the population living in the Perth area, leaving the remainder of the state sparsely populated.

Structure

The charity has some 250 members. ADFA is registered with the Australian Taxation Office and ASIC.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian government statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuation legislation, and other associated matters. Responsibility for the operations of the ATO are within the portfolio of the federal Treasurer.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent Australian government body that acts as Australia's corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to enforce and regulate company and financial services laws to protect Australian consumers, investors and creditors. ASIC was established on 1 July 1998 following recommendations from the Wallis Inquiry. ASIC's authority and scope is determined by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act, 2001 (Cth).

Although the size of medical teams vary, ADFA attempts to ensure that a typical team comprises orthopaedic surgeons, an anaesthetist and theatre nurse with additional specialised support incorporated into the team such as a physiotherapist, plaster technician and orthopaedic technician. Other speciality team members include gastroenterology and urology. ADFA has also developed a relationship with The University of Western Australia and sends academic staff to conduct medical student teaching. There are 2-4 visits to each location per year.

The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilities elsewhere.

The organisation has been recognized by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Australian Orthopaedic Association.

The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) is the leading advocate for surgical standards, professionalism and surgical education in Australia and New Zealand.

The Australian Orthopaedic Association (AOA) is a not for profit organisation that represents over 1600 Australian orthopaedic surgeons.

With an operating budget of less than $200,000 per annum ADFA relies on the support of corporate partners, donations, fund raising activities and volunteers to maintain its core business.

At each location, teams work very closely with the local medical staff with an aim to provide sustainable service provision. There is reciprocal learning and teaching between the visiting and local medical staff.

Current work

There are three locations where the charity has established programmes of medical aid: Somalia, Madagascar and Ethiopia.

Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Guardafui Channel and Somali Sea to the east, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Climatically, hot conditions prevail year-round, with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.

Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, and previously known as the Malagasy Republic, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately 400 kilometres off the coast of East Africa. At 592,800 square kilometres (228,900 sq mi) Madagascar is the world's 2nd largest island country. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent around 88 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the rapidly growing human population and other environmental threats.

Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country in the northeastern part of Africa, known as the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, the de facto state of Somaliland and Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, South Sudan to the west and Sudan to the northwest. With over 102 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and the second-most populous nation on the African continent with a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres (420,000 sq mi). Its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa, which lies a few miles west of the East African Rift that splits the country into the Nubian and Somali tectonic plates.

Somalia

Original efforts were based in Bosaso in the north, in Puntland on the Gulf of Aden following the 2005 tsunami which affected the area. Visiting teams of orthopaedic surgeons, nurses and anaesthetists have carried out consultations in clinics and performed many operations on Somali people, injured civilians in the clan fighting and civil war. Visits to Bosaso have been temporarily suspended due to increasing political tension. However work has continued in Hargeisa, Somaliland. The first visit to Hargeisa Group Hospital was in 2007 and since then teams have been visiting 2-3 times a year. Work there includes orthopaedic consultation, teaching and performing operations as well as medical student teaching in conjunction with the University Medical faculty.

Bosaso is a city in the northeastern Bari province (gobol) of Somalia. It is the seat of the Bosaso District. Located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden, the municipality serves as the region's commercial capital and is a major seaport within the autonomous Puntland state.

Puntland, officially the Puntland State of Somalia, is a region in northeastern Somalia. Centred on the town of Garoowe in the Nugal province, its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998 but is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.

The Gulf of Aden, formerly known as the Gulf of Berbera, is a deepwater gulf amidst Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea and Guardafui Channel to the east, Somalia and Somaliland to the south, and Djibouti to the west. In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, and in the southeast, it connects with the Indian Ocean through the Guardafui Channel. To the west, it narrows into the Gulf of Tadjoura, in the Horn of Africa. The Gulf of Aden separates the Arabian peninsula with the Horn of Africa.

ADFA has also built a relationship with Edna Aden Maternity Hospital and in 2013 aided to fund the construction of a radiology building.

As well as the medical and educational assistance provided in Hargeisa, other capacity building achievements include the renovation of the hospital laundry and two operating theatres. Multiple sea container loads of medical and hospital equipment have been despatched from the port of Fremantle, Western Australia to Bosaso and Hargeisa as well as many kilograms worth of air freight.

Madagascar

Regular visits have been made to Toliara in the southwest of the country and Antananarivo on the east coast, providing orthopaedic and gastroenterology services to patients at the General Hospital, the Clinique St Lucque, the Military Hospital and the University Hospital. A Urology programme has also been set up. Teams from all three specialty areas provide consultation, teaching and procedures. Much endoscopic equipment has been donated. Teams have been able to train local medical staff in orthopaedics, gastroenterology and urology to ensure that services are sustainable and readily available outside of team visits. Multiple sea containers of surgical and endoscopic equipment have been sent.

Ethiopia

Regular operating and teaching assignments are carried out at the Tikur Anbessa (Black Lion) Hospital in Addis Ababa. Over the years that ADFA have been visiting Tikur Anbessa, they have helped build the orthopaedic training program and in 2013 there are 16 orthopaedic residents in training, up from just a few five years earlier. ADFA provides basic orthopaedic surgical skills courses for these trainees. Furthermore, it has helped establish a talipes program based on education, early referral and assessment as well as treatment for children with talipes.

The latest capacity building project at Tikur Anbessa is aid with building two new specific orthopaedic operating theatres which begin construction in 2013. Multiple sea containers of medical and equipment have assembled and sent from Claremont, Western Australia since 2007.

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References

↑ Weber, David (9 August 2008). "Perth doctors to volunteer in Somalia". AM. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
↑ Gibson, David (1 November 2005). "Engaging African communities". Business News.
↑ Weber, David (4 August 2006). "Perth man donates to Somali universities". PM. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2013-12-03.
↑ "Somaliland: Australian Doctors to Teach Hargeisan Students". April 8, 2011. Retrieved 2013-12-03.Cite web requires |website= (help)

External links

Official website

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[1] Weber, David (9 August 2008). "Perth doctors to volunteer in Somalia". AM. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

[2] Gibson, David (1 November 2005). "Engaging African communities". Business News.

[3] Weber, David (4 August 2006). "Perth man donates to Somali universities". PM. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2013-12-03.

[4] "Somaliland: Australian Doctors to Teach Hargeisan Students". April 8, 2011. Retrieved 2013-12-03.Cite web requires |website= (help)