People across Africa face barriers to access health. Amref develops health innovations to address health issues and reach more people with the health services they need.
More than half of Africa’s people do not have access to the healthcare they need and deserve. A third of the continent’s population lives more than two hours away from health services, and five million people are forced into poverty every year because of massive medical bills.
Often, it is individuals and communities who are already marginalised – people living in poverty, for example, or with a stigmatised mental or physical illness – who face the biggest barriers to accessing services.
Across the continent, Amref works to remove those barriers, whether they are physical, geographical, financial, technological, gender-based, or related to culture or social norms. In close collaboration with communities, governments, and other partners, we build people-centred health systems that are equitable and sustainable.
Amref Health Africa started life in 1957 as the Flying Doctors of East Africa, when our founders used a fleet of aircraft to connect remote and marginalised communities with high-quality healthcare. Almost 70 years later, we still use the tools of our time to reach those who formal health systems are not designed for.
With your support, we:
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one in five people in South Sudan is likely to experience mental ill health. Conflict, displacement, poverty, and uncertainty place a huge mental and emotional burden on people living in the world’s youngest country. As in other countries – in Africa and beyond – there is a lot of stigma surrounding mental health, which can make it difficult for people to receive the care they need.
In 2025, Amref contributed to the development and launch of South Sudan’s first ‘National Mental Health & Psycho-Social Support Strategic Plan’, which will run until 2029. We also screened 49,667 individuals for mental health conditions. 1,374 new patients were enrolled for treatment at the eight MNS (Mental, Neurological, Substance use) clinics supported by Amref Health Africa. These same clinics offered a total of 19,516 consultations in 2025.
One of the supported clinics, located at Tonj Civil Hospital, Warrap State, was established in early 2024. By the end of 2025, it had already enrolled more than 1,200 patients, primarily diagnosed with epilepsy or psychosis. Several of these patients presented to the clinic, for the first time, with signs of psychological distress. Following treatment, their symptoms generally subsided and their level of distress reduced by an average of 83%.
