Welcome to the Edna Hospital, Hargeisa, Somaliland
The health of the people of Somaliland is among the worst in Africa, with one of the highest Maternal and Child Mortality rates in the world. Every year, one baby in eight dies in infancy while nearly 4000 Somali women die in childbirth. This tragedy can be attributed in large part to the long civil war which brought about the death or departure of nearly all of the country's trained health care professionals.
Edna Adan Maternity Hospital seeks to fill not only the urgent need for health care but also to provide - in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, UNICEF, and WHO - training for a new generation of nurses and midwives qualified to provide Reproductive Health Care throughout Somaliland.
The hospital, located in Hargeisa (or Hargeysa), is a non-profit charity community hospital built by Edna Adan Ismail who donated her U.N. pension (from the World Health Organization) and other personal assets so that she might help to address the grave health problems that endanger the lives of women and children in the Horn of Africa.
Edna Adan Maternity Hospital opened in 2002 and now provides a much higher standard of patient care than is available elsewhere in Somaliland. In addition to services and facilities relating specifically to maternal and infant care, the hospital has diagnostic laboratory facilities and an emergency Blood Bank; and provides diagnosis and treatment for Sexually Transmitted Diseases including testing for HIV/AIDS.
The hospital makes available facilities for carrying out medical research, studies and counselling with particular attention to the health problems associated with Female Genital Mutilation.
Web Site Overview
In the Mission section of the site, we describe the difficult situation of Somaliland, including its fight for independence from Somalia and its status as an unrecognized republic; and how these factors have impacted the health of Somaliland's women and children.
The Hospital section goes into great detail about our hospital facilities, administration, and programs; and about how this location - which was once used as a mass killing field during the war for independence (1988-1990) under Siad Barre's reign - is now a haven for bringing new life into the world.
There are photos distributed throughout the web site - and, remember, you can see many of them in a larger view by just clicking on them! The Gallery section is where we gather together all of the photos in one place.
The Blog is new and we hope to see it develop into an important part of the newly-redesigned web site. It is intended to be a way for you to keep in touch with day-to-day developments at Edna Adan Maternity Hospital. We invite you to post your comments!
If you find yourself wanting to offer some financial assistance to the hospital and its work, then we hope you will go to the Support page for information about how you can help.
Subscribe to the Mailing List for occasional updates about developments. Your email will never be shared or sold and, of course, you can remove yourself immediately at any time.
