Results achieved as of the end of the project (September 2012): AMREF grew from five country offices and training and consultancy programs in 17 countries to seven country offices (two being regional hubs) with programs in 35 countries. AMREF’s programming grew from 105 projects to 160 and almost doubled financially, with the majority of projects being in the area of maternal, newborn, and child health. This growth is a result of AMREF’s increased ability to manage large projects and provide support to its country offices and also increased donor confidence in AMREF’s organizational systems and skills. AMREF started to measure population coverage in 2010. Since 2010, AMREF’s reach has grown from approximately 5 million people (40% women) to over 21.5 million people (57% women) in approximately 200 underserved communities in 42 countries. Between 2010 and 2012, AMREF trained approximately 500,000 health workers (60% women). AMREF helped to improve the skills of Africa’s health workforce by developing a Masters degree program in Public Health, an e-learning diploma program in Community Health (115 health workers from 15 countries have graduated), a Community Health Nursing diploma upgrade program (over 8,000 nurses have upgraded from a certificate to a diploma), and Bachelor of Science programs in Community Health and in Nursing Education. In 2010, AMREF developed a curriculum on strengthening health system governance, leadership, and management and trained 76 trainers from 17 African countries to provide this training in their respective countries. AMREF health models and approaches have been adopted by African Ministries of Health and AMREF is called upon to attend high-level World Health Organization meetings, to help Ministries of Health develop national policy, and to contribute to international health policy development. AMREF won several awards: the World Federation of Public Health Associations 2012 Award for outstanding achievements and contributions to public health; AMREF was named among the top 100 NGOs in the world by the Global Journal, concerned with international governance; and AMREF’s Flying Doctors were awarded the Air Ambulance Provider of the Year award. With Canada’s support, AMREF developed a Business Plan for 2011-2014 that focuses on maternal, newborn, and child health and other health system priorities. The new Business Plan includes the development of business models and fundraising strategies that will help AMREF generate income to cover its own operating costs, which will boost AMREF's financial sustainability and reduce its dependence on donor agencies. Overall, this project has helped AMREF better respond to and prevent health systems challenges. The project has also helped AMREF become more visible and influential as a contributor to health policy at the national, regional, and global levels.
