Improving the health and lives of people in Africa.

We’re an Australian not-for-profit organisation committed to improving the health and wellbeing of vulnerable communities in Ethiopia, Madagascar, Somaliland and Comoros.
View our Annual Report.

 

Over the last year Australian Doctors for Africa have trained 684 medical professionals

Hospitals Supported

Medical Professionals Trained

Scholarships

Children Treated for Clubfoot

Shipments of Medical Equipment

Infrastructure Projects

*All figures from the period between July 2022 and June 2023.

News

Orthopaedics Training Team Visits Ethiopia

Orthopaedics Training Team Visits Ethiopia

Thanks to the volunteer orthopaedics team of Dr Tony Jeffries, Orthopaedic Surgeon, and Stephanie MacDonald, Theatre Nurse, who presented a number of training seminars to surgeons and nurses at three hospitals in Addis Ababa. After a request from a number of Ethiopian...

Volunteer Urology Team Helps Many in Madagascar

Volunteer Urology Team Helps Many in Madagascar

Huge thanks to the Urology team of volunteers from Ballarat, Perth & Chile - Dr Richard McMullin (Urologist), Dr Berni Troncoso (Paediatric Urologist), Dr Melvyn Kuan (Urologist), Dr Josh Telles (Anaesthetist) and Rhiannon Lang (Nurse) - who recently travelled to...

Sea Container of Donated Medical Equipment for Zimbabwe Hospital

Sea Container of Donated Medical Equipment for Zimbabwe Hospital

Our 67th sea container is on its way to Zimbabwe for the United Bulawayo Hospitals. Huge thanks to Graeme Wilson, our volunteer logistics expert for arranging and packing the container with ADFA staff, Helen and Dawn. Over 100 items of donated medical equipment and...

Volunteer Medical Aid in Africa

Australian Doctors for Africa (ADFA) is a volunteer medical humanitarian organisation, providing medical training and services, hospital equipment and infrastructure development for vulnerable communities in East Africa, to enable greater access to treatment and long term sustainable development.  We currently operate in Madagascar, Ethiopia, Somaliland and Comoros.

ADFA is a not-for-profit organisation with no political or religious affiliations, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, that respects, protects and promotes human rights for all, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, indigeneity, disability, age, gender, gender identity, sexuality, poverty, class or socio-economic status.  We are a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and are committed to adherence to its Code of Conduct.

Sharmarke’s Story

Sharmarke was born with a clubfoot deformity of the right foot. He and his family live in a small village close to the Somaliland border with Ethiopia.

The family are livestock herders like many other families in the area. They have 5 children including Sharmake. Sulekha, his older sister was born with a bilateral clubfoot deformity and was treated by Diversity Action Network (DAN), a partner of Australian Doctors for Africa, in 2015.

Graeme’s Story

Being involved with ADFA has been a wonderful journey and I feel very fortunate to be part of a vibrant and forward-thinking organisation.

It all started when ADFA requested shipping and logistical support from the company where I worked. ADFA, and the energetic Robert Forward, would organise volunteers to pack containers of medical equipment, and we would send them to their final destination in Ethiopia, Somaliland or Madagascar. As I moved towards semi-retirement, volunteering with ADFA felt like a good fit. The ethos displayed by Graham Forward and the medical volunteers was exceptional. Sharing my 47 years of logistics experience was an opportunity for me to give back.

Kate’s Story

Dr Kate Stannage Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon

My association with Australian Doctors for Africa began in 2013 with an orthopaedic trip to Toliara, Madagascar.

I had previously worked in the South Pacific and was passionate about advancement of medical care in developing nations. I think that Dr Graham Forward had planned out my destiny well before I was aware of it as on that trip I fell in love with the place and the people.

Tiavina’s Story

In October 2020, 3 year old Tiavina, along with her mother and grandmother arrived in Toliara. 

They had made the 500 km journey from their home city Ambovombe in the far south of Madagascar to seek treatment for Tiavina’s feet. They did not know Tiavina had clubfeet, or “biko” in the local Malagasy dialect, but knew that without treatment her feet would never be normal and would result in a lifetime of disability and discrimination.

Sue’s Story

Dr Sue Chapman FRACS Urology

Sue first approached Dr Graham Forward about the opportunity to volunteer in Madagascar in 2008 and visited the country for the first time after the military coup in 2009.  Her vision was to provide endourology services such as TURP* and stricture treatment to the men of Tulear and the surrounding villages.  After some initial hurdles around safe irrigation fluid, diathermy equivalence and electrical connections, we managed to perform TURP for the first time in Tulear on that first visit.

Abdirahman’s Story

One of five boys, little Abdirahman lives 90kms East of Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, and is cared for by his maternal grandmother and aunts. His father was tragically wounded by gun shot in 2010, which resulted in right side stroke and loss of speech leaving him unable to work and provide for his family. The only income the family receives is from renting out their car. Abdirahman’s mother also suffers poor health and is currently unable to care for her children.

Tony's Story

Dr Tony Jeffries Orthopaedic Surgeon

I have been visiting Ethiopia for two weeks in August yearly since 2006. When I first visited the Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa the wards and operating theatres were grim.  The orthopaedic pathology was certainly extreme. Over the years with the extensive training and infrastructure input of ADFA there has been an amazing improvement in all aspects of the standard of orthopaedic care.

Muniira's Story

Saved from a lifetime of disability through access to clubfoot treatment provided by Diversity Action Network in partnership with Australian Doctors for Africa.

Muniira’s mother did not hesitate when she set off from her home village of Qudhac Raamaale on the Ethiopian-Somali border to travel the 100kms to Hargeisa, the capital city of Somaliland. She had taken this trip before, when her eldest daughter needed treatment, and now it was Muniira’s turn.

Cath’s Story

Volunteer Nursing Co ordinator, Gastroenterology

When Cath walks into an Endoscopy Unit in Madagascar she feels a sense of pride and achievement. Not only is the unit clean and in good order, but the nurses and technicians are professional, hardworking and eager to learn new skills.   When she first arrived in Madagascar in 2011 it was quite a different story.

Dr Said's Story

Recipient of Australian Doctors for Africa’s Orthopaedic Scholarship and first year Orthopaedic Resident at Addis Ababa University and Tikur Ambasa Specialised Hospital.

My country Somaliland has one of the lowest ratios of physicians to population in the world, and we are almost completely lacking in medical specialists to assist our people.  As our country rebuilds from the devastating civil war, we urgently need to improve our healthcare infrastructure.  However, because we lack recognition from the international community, our options for training physicians are severely limited.

Ethiopia

Orthopaedic surgery, treatment and training are the cornerstone of our activities in Ethiopia.

Somaliland

ADFA programs support the Hargeisa Group Hospital,  Edna Adan Maternity Hospital, Taakulo Somali Community and Diversity Action Network.
ADFA first visited Madagascar in 2006 and our specialties now include orthopaedics, clubfoot, gastroenterology, urology, ENT, obstetrics/gynaecology and paediatric surgery.

Madagascar

Orthopaedic medical missions to Comoros focus on the child health issues of clubfoot, rickets and obstetric palsy.

Comoros