Australian Doctors for Africa

Australian Doctors for Africa is a licensed charity registered in Western Australia. It was founded in 2005 by orthopaedic surgeon Dr Graham Forward. The charity's objective is to provide voluntary medical, surgical and nursing services to areas of need in Africa.

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Structure

The charity has some 250 members. The managing board of directors consists of Dr Graham Forward, Ms Jeanne Bell, Mr Robert Forward and Ms Christine Tasker, registered with the Australian Taxation Office and ASIC.

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

Current work

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

Somalia

Efforts are based in Bosaso in the north, in Puntland on the Gulf of Aden. Visiting teams of orthopaedic surgeons, nurses and anaesthetists have carried out consultations in clinics and performed many operations on Somali people injured in the clan fighting and civil war. Container loads of medical and hospital equipment were despatched from the port of Fremantle, Western Australia to Bosaso.

Madagascar

Regular visits have been made to Toliara in the southwest of the country, providing orthopaedic and gastroenterology services to patients at the General Hospital and the Clinique St Lucque.A container of specialized surgical equipment including video endoscopes arrived at Toliara port in October 2007.

Ethiopia

Regular operating and teaching assignments are carried out at the Tikur Anbessa (Black Lion) Hospital in Addis Ababa. A container of medical and equipment is being assembled in Claremont, Western Australia for shipment towards the end of 2007.