Remembering Dr Bushra Ibnauf

In 2008, American-Sudanese Dr Bushra Ibnauf Sulieman, with four other Sudanese doctors who completed their medical training in the USA, established the Sudanese American Medical Association (SAMA) to serve those in need in Sudan, mainly targeting the aspects of underserved patients care, medical education and training, and humanitarian relief.

The US-born gastroenterologist later returned to Sudan to look after his elderly parents. Shortly after his return to Sudan, he joined his alma mater, the University of Khartoum, as Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine. In 2018, Bushra established SAMA’s Sudan office in Khartoum and nurtured it from its humble beginning to a fully-fledged office with permanent full-time staff and several successful programmes such as building hospitals, importing medical supplies to Sudan, and training health professionals. The father of four lived in Sudan with his wife and two of his children, and divided his time and work between Iowa and Khartoum.

While Bushra felt that humanitarian work was his duty; teaching and mentorship were his passion. He was always approachable with a genuine ‘open-door policy’ that created a special bond between him and his students. Bushra had a charming charismatic personality that made all those who met him admire and adore him. As one of his classmates said, ‘The room would light up when Bushra entered’. His humility, candor and grace dismantled the patriarchal image of the unapproachable elitist professor, and replaced it with the tender touch of the mentor and elder brother for his students and trainees. 

On 25 April 2023, just 10 days after the war between Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in Sudan, Bushra was killed in Khartoum at the age of 48. Looters fatally stabbing him in his family home as he was attempting to bring his father to a morning medical appointment.

In his memory, SAMA established the Dr Bushra Ibnauf Center for Learning in Port Sudan. The centre overcomes local challenges of power supply and internet speed using solar panels and reliable internet service. It is fully equipped for learning with modern audiovisual equipment and IT hardware. The centre was approved as a hub for the University of New Mexico’s Project ECHO model. On 8 July 2023, the first Project ECHO programme, Trauma ECHO, was conducted in the centre. Trauma ECHO connected Sudan’s trauma surgeons with global experts in trauma surgery over 11 Zoom sessions. The sessions are structured to be interactive and emphasise learner engagement ‘All Teach, All Learn’ approach. Seventeen trauma surgery experts from North America, Europe and the Middle East volunteered their time to share the knowledge with the more than 260 learners who participated in the programme. 

As an organisation, SAMA is privileged to have learnt from Bushra. Through the Bushra Ibnauf Centers for Learning, SAMA hopes to spread what it learned; their motto is Knowledge Without Barriers #Knowledge_Without_Barriers. SAMA’s audacious goal is to establish similar centers for learning across Sudan and South Sudan. 

Established in 2008, SAMA is an educational and humanitarian nonprofit organisation made up of medical professionals of Sudanese descent based in the US. SAMA works actively to promote the health and well-being of both the Sudanese Diaspora community and families living in Sudan by delivering medical services, education, training and capacity building. 

To learn more about our centre, visit sama-sd.org/bushra-ibnauf/center-for-learning 

__________________________________________________________________________________

Dr Mohamed Ahmed is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Khartoum. He completed his internship year after graduation in the Academic Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan. He is Currently working as an intern with Sudanese American Medical Association (SAMA).