11th January, 2011
Southern Sudan went to the polls on January 9, 2011 to vote in a referendum on whether or not to separate from the North.
Most believe the referendum will result in the South separating and creating Africa’s newest independent state.
Latest News from southern SudanUN Warns Sudan Referendum Puts Children at Risk - VOA News; January 11, 2011 Providing Support to Sudanese Returning Home to Vote - ReliefWeb; January 10, 2011 |
AMREF's Work in southern Sudan
AMREF has a long history in Southern Sudan and a strong working relationship with the Government, particularly the Ministries of Health and Education.
AMREF staff on the ground are optimistic the vote will go smoothly, but we are also working closely with the United Nations coordinating plans for humanitarian interventions if needed.
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.
AMREF began training clinical officers (health professionals trained for approximately half the time and at one fifth of the normal cost of training a physician that are able to carry out 70% of the work a physician does) at the Maridi National Health Training Institute and the Lui National Health Training Institute in Southern Sudan during the war. Though the training was disrupted during the fighting, AMREF continued to train clinical officers and community midwives in Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) controlled areas.
Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that granted Southern Sudan semi-autonomy in 2005, AMREF, at the request of the Government of Southern Sudan, developed standardized curricula for the training of community midwives, clinical officers, nurses and community health workers. The standardization has helped the government to 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 the Government of Southern Sudan to move towards its goal of taking good quality health care to its people so that they can be healthier and more productive.
