Dr. Amira Osman Khalid

Dr. Amira Osman Khalid is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Omdurman Maternity Hospital — one of Sudan's highest-volume maternity facilities, serving the population of Omdurman and Khartoum and receiving referrals from across the country. With 17 years of specialist practice, dual Arabic Board and MRCOG qualification, and expertise in obstetric fistula repair, high-risk obstetrics, and minimally invasive gynaecological surgery, Dr. Osman Khalid is one of Sudan's most experienced and broadly credentialled obstetrician-gynaecologists.

Sudan faces a significant maternal health burden. While maternal mortality rates have improved over recent decades, they remain substantially elevated compared to global targets, with haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, obstructed labour, and sepsis among the leading causes. Obstetric fistula — a devastating condition caused by prolonged obstructed labour that results in an abnormal opening between the bladder or rectum and the vagina — remains prevalent in Sudan and parts of the wider region, and Dr. Osman Khalid has dedicated a substantial portion of her surgical practice to its surgical repair and the broader advocacy needed to prevent new cases.

Dr. Osman Khalid trained in Khartoum and pursued postgraduate qualifications in both the Arab regional system (Arab Board in Obstetrics and Gynecology) and the UK system (MRCOG), giving her a rigorous and internationally recognised credential base. She is an active member of the Sudan Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, where she contributes to clinical guidelines and continuing education for the specialty.

Dr. Osman Khalid graduated with an MBBSc from the University of Khartoum, completing her medical training at one of Africa's most established medical schools. During her undergraduate clinical years, her rotations through the obstetrics and gynaecology wards at Khartoum and Omdurman hospitals exposed her to the high volume and complex nature of obstetric emergencies in Sudan, and she selected obstetrics and gynaecology as her specialty upon graduation.

She undertook her postgraduate specialist training through the Arab Board of Medical Specializations programme, which is a rigorous regional qualification framework comparable to the European specialist training systems. She successfully completed the Arab Board examinations in Obstetrics and Gynecology, qualifying as an Arab Board specialist. She subsequently pursued and obtained MRCOG (Membership of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, UK) — a globally recognised credential that required passing Part 1 (written, knowledge-based) and Part 2 (written and OSCE-structured clinical assessment) examinations, as well as a structured logbook of operative experience.

She has undertaken specific training in obstetric fistula repair through workshops supported by the Fistula Foundation and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which have invested in building Sudanese surgeon capacity for this procedure given the burden of fistula in the country. She has also trained in laparoscopic gynaecological surgery and has developed a laparoscopy practice at Omdurman Maternity Hospital, where she performs diagnostic and operative laparoscopy for a range of gynaecological conditions.

Dr. Osman Khalid's clinical practice spans both the obstetric and gynaecological dimensions of her specialty at a high level of operative complexity. In obstetrics, she manages high-risk pregnancies including those complicated by pre-eclampsia, placenta praevia, gestational diabetes, multiple gestation, and prior uterine surgery. She conducts caesarean sections, including complex repeat caesarean sections and those involving placenta accreta spectrum disorders — a technically demanding scenario that she approaches with careful pre-operative planning and, when possible, a multidisciplinary team approach.

Her work in obstetric fistula repair is a particular clinical and humanitarian commitment. She performs both vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF) and recto-vaginal fistula (RVF) repairs, managing cases that range from straightforward first-repair VVFs to complex, recurrent cases with significant scarring. She collaborates with UNFPA's fistula programme and participates in dedicated fistula surgical camps where high volumes of repairs are performed by specialist teams. Beyond surgery, she is involved in the pre-operative counselling and post-operative rehabilitation of fistula patients, recognising that physical repair is one part of a holistic care pathway for women who have experienced this condition.

In gynaecology, Dr. Osman Khalid manages uterine fibroids (performing myomectomy for fertility-preserving treatment and hysterectomy when appropriate), ovarian cysts, ectopic pregnancy, cervical incompetence (managed with cerclage), and endometriosis. Her laparoscopic practice enables her to diagnose and treat many of these conditions minimally invasively, reducing recovery times for patients — an important consideration in a setting where post-operative support resources are limited.

Dr. Osman Khalid has published in Sudanese and regional obstetric and gynaecological journals, with work focusing on obstetric fistula outcomes at Omdurman Maternity Hospital, caesarean section rates and indications in Khartoum, and the management of pre-eclampsia in the Sudanese context. She has co-authored a paper on the surgical outcomes of VVF repair in Sudan that was cited in a UNFPA regional report on fistula burden and treatment capacity.

She has presented at Sudan Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology annual meetings and at Arab Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (AFOG) scientific conferences, sharing clinical data and case series from her practice at Omdurman Maternity Hospital. She is an active reviewer for the Sudan Medical Journal and contributes to UNFPA Sudan's obstetric fistula programme evaluation documentation. Dr. Osman Khalid is committed to building a stronger evidence base for obstetric care in Sudan, recognising that locally generated research is necessary to drive clinical improvement within the constraints of the country's healthcare system.

Omdurman Maternity Hospital and Khartoum's obstetric services are accessible to patients from neighbouring countries and the Sudanese diaspora. Sudan's medical infrastructure — particularly in obstetrics and gynaecology — is more developed than that of South Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, and parts of the Central African Republic, and Dr. Osman Khalid receives referrals from patients in these countries who travel to Khartoum for specialist obstetric and gynaecological care that is not available closer to home.

For Sudanese diaspora women visiting Khartoum during pregnancy or seeking management of gynaecological conditions, Dr. Osman Khalid offers consultations at Omdurman Maternity Hospital and provides comprehensive care from antenatal assessment through delivery and postnatal review. She communicates in Arabic and English and provides written reports in both languages. For complex cases requiring interventions such as advanced maternal foetal medicine investigations or cardiac assessment in pregnancy, she advises on and coordinates referral to hospitals in Egypt or Jordan that offer subspecialty services not available in Khartoum.

Dr. Osman Khalid has been recognised by the Sudan Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology for her contributions to the specialty, including her work in obstetric fistula surgery and maternal mortality reduction. She received acknowledgement from UNFPA Sudan for her participation in the national fistula repair programme and her contribution to building Sudanese surgical capacity for fistula treatment.

Her dual qualification (Arab Board and MRCOG) is a distinction within Sudan's obstetric and gynaecology community, and she has been recognised by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (UK) in communications to its international members highlighting fellows and members practising in low- and middle-income countries. She has been invited to serve on the Sudan Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology's clinical guidelines committee, contributing to the development of nationally adapted protocols for the management of obstetric haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, and fistula.