Saudi ‘Athar’ Volunteer Program in Sudan: Specialized Medical Care, Training, Empowerment
The Saudi Voluntary Program in Sudan (Athar), implemented by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), provided services to 507,934 beneficiaries in its first edition through 194 projects.
The projects included the “Saudi Volunteer Medical Program for Specialized Surgeries”; the “Noor Saudi Volunteer Program” to combat blindness; the “Ebsar” volunteer project for school health; the Saudi Voluntary Medical Project for Prosthetics; the “Life Ambassador” program; pediatric, kidney, and neurology clinic projects; and the “Saudi Pulse” volunteer project.
The program aims to deliver voluntary medical projects for the Sudanese people as part of the KSrelief’s efforts to support Sudan’s health sector. Specialist teams participate by examining patients and performing surgical procedures across a range of disciplines.
Blindness-prevention projects accounted for the largest share of the first edition, with 125 projects implemented under the Noor Saudi Volunteer Program initiative, alongside 30 projects under the Ebsar volunteer project for school health. Services provided through Noor Saudi Volunteer Program include cataract-removal surgeries, medical examinations, and clinics.
In specialized surgery, the program’s first edition included 32 projects, in addition to two projects under the Saudi Pulse volunteer initiative. Surgical interventions documented by the KSrelief as part of Athar program included urological, neurosurgical, and vascular procedures, as well as cataract-removal operations.
Among the projects implemented by the KSrelief under the program in the city of Port Sudan was a vascular, neurosurgery, and pediatric surgery project, carried out from September 11 to 23, 2023. The volunteer medical team performed 73 surgical operations and examined 421 patients in neurology, pediatric, and kidney clinics.
The first edition’s services also extended to prosthetics and rehabilitation through a voluntary medical project, as well as three medical-clinic projects in pediatrics, nephrology, and neurology—one project in each specialty. It also included a project under the “Life Ambassador” initiative, a voluntary first-aid training project.
Plans for the program’s second edition include implementing 200 projects, expected to benefit a total of 563,180 people. These include 140 projects under Noor Saudi Volunteer Program initiative for eye operations; six projects under the Saudi Pulse volunteer project initiative for cardiac surgery and catheterization; and three projects under the “Saudi Sama'a Volunteer Program” initiative for cochlear implants and hearing rehabilitation.
The plans also include 45 projects divided between the "Saudi Voluntary Training Program for Specialized Surgeries" and the Saudi Volunteer Medical Program for Specialized Surgeries. Both programs cover the fields of prosthetic limbs, general surgery and maxillofacial surgery, each according to the nature of its training or treatment projects, while the Saudi Volunteer Medical Program for Specialized Surgeries also encompasses ear, nose, and throat surgery, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery, urology, and endocrine surgery.
The Athar program in Sudan forms part of the KSrelief’s international volunteer work. Statistics from the KSrelief’s Saudi International Volunteer Portal show that 1,471 volunteer programs have been implemented in 61 countries, benefiting a total of 2,883,295 people and including 276,283 surgical operations. The portal has 84,745 registered volunteers.
