Published on: 17 April 2015


Australian Doctors for Africa (ADFA), with the help of Christ Church schoolboys and the Nedlands Claremont Lions Club, recently sent a 12 cubic metre sea container filled with medical supplies to help equip a new 20 bed ward in Somaliland’s largest public hospital. 

ADFA, founded by orthopaedic surgeon and Christ Church Old Boy Dr Graham Forward, provide overseas medical teams, training programs and in-country support of health care infrastructure development in Ethiopia, Madagascar, Somaliland and the Comoros. 

Established in 2005, the community-based, not-for-profit organisation was created as a way to help set East African regions on course to a more stable medical future. 

Dr Forward said the ADFA team was very grateful to have strong donor and voluntary support to assist with their numerous medical projects. 

“We depend on our volunteers including trained medical staff for overseas medical visits, staff for general office duties and people who can give time to assist in the collection, sorting and packing of medical supplies which are sent via sea container to Africa,” he said. 

“The sea container project is an integral part of ADFA, which works hand-in-hand with the medical teams, as we need the equipment and medical supplies to arrive in the countries we visit to assist with the work and teaching carried out at the hospitals.” 

Over the past five years Christ Church schoolboys, as part of their Environment and Community Cadet program, have been regularly enlisted to help volunteers with some of the heavy lifting. Directed by Robert Forward (Graham’s father), the boys have assisted in loading 20 sea containers with medical equipment, ward beds, mattresses and mobility devices. 

ADFA has deductible gift receipt (DGR) status, is an accredited member of the Australian Council For International Development (ACFID) and is part of the Australian Government’s NGO Co-operation Program, receiving additional funding to support and develop its long-term projects.