Near East Foundation

Period: 2002-Present
Primary Donor(s): Packard Foundation, Population Council, Norris Foundation, NEF, UNICEF, UNFPA

Dar Al-Salaam Al Rabwa is a settlement of 40,000+ internally-displaced people living about 40 kilometers outside Khartoum. Its inhabitants have little or no access to many basic services: potable water, education, and electricity are all scarce or nonexistent. So was healthcare, before NEF built the community’s first health clinic in 2002. Between 2002 and 2010, the Foundation provided a range of basic health services through this clinic, including diagnosis, primary care, laboratory testing, growth monitoring, vaccination and pharmaceuticals. In 2006, a generous donation from the Population Council enabled NEF to add a delivery room and reproductive health services unit, including obstetrics, pre- and post-natal care, and family planning. Clinic use grew steadily for many years: by spring 2010, it was serving over 2000 patients a month.

In addition to medical services, the health clinic provided educational benefits to the local community. From its early days, staff routinely conducted home visits to increase awareness on primary and reproductive health care and basic hygiene. Building off this base, a donation from UNFPA and UNICEF allowed NEF to implement an HIV awareness program with three main goals: to increase local awareness of HIV/AIDS, to spread information about transmission and prevention, and to improve the quality of life for HIV/AIDS sufferers in the area. In total, 20 health care providers were successfully trained in the technical aspects of HIV/AIDS prevention, over 60 community volunteers were trained in basic awareness and supplied with educational materials, 60 community-based education sessions were held, 160 community leaders and stakeholders participated in sensitization training, close to 2000 home visits were conducted, and over 5000 clients participated in facility and community based education sessions.

In September of 2010, NEF turned over management of the clinic to Umm al-Momenein—a Khartoum-based NGO that focuses on primary health care—thus ensuring its continued stability and local ownership. For more information, please see http://www.neareast.org/newsupdates/page/nef_hands_over_sudan_clinic_to_local_ngo. NEF continues to support HIV/AIDS awareness in the community, in collaboration with clinic staff.