Dr. Eve Bruce Discusses her time at Edna Hospital

Posted on Feb 22, 2013 in Blog | 5 comments By Dr. Eve Bruce, February 21, 2013 I had read the statistics. We all have. I knew about the problems and the need. What I did not know was how generous the people are with their loving kindness ~ and their laughter. Awakening the first morning in Hargeisa at the Edna Adan Ismail Hospital to the sound of the Muezzin Call to Prayer, I peaked out the window where I sleep in the hospital....
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International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation

Posted on Feb 6, 2013 in Edna Adan | 2 comments Today is International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, which is a condition suffered by approximately 140 million women worldwide. Edna Adan has always used her hospital and her notoriety to educate the people of Somaliland to reject this practice, which has extraordinarily deep roots in the culture throughout the Horn of Africa. On this day, Edna has provided the following...
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Somaliland: An Epic 4000 Kms Journey on Foot for Edna Hospital

Posted on Jan 7, 2013 in Blog, Hospital News | 16 comments Here is an article from the Somalilandsun celebrating the arrival in Hargeisa of Christopher Stansfield, who walked from Cairo in support of Edna Hospital. • “Yes I have indeed reached my final destination. It’s been a gruelling four months and couldn’t have asked for a warmer welcome from Edna and everyone here at the hospital in Hargeisa. After seeing the hospital with my...
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Somaliland Should be Recognized

Posted on Nov 27, 2012 in Somaliland | 0 comments Somaliland is holding an election on Wednesday. The country has won international praise for past elections, deemed “Free and Fair,” and the many international election observers here this time have been well pleased. What Somaliland lacks is international recognition. Here is a real nice summary of the situation written by a young University of Maryland student, John Ford. When...
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Edna Adan Ismail: a Somali Inspiration

Posted on Sep 20, 2012 in Edna Adan | 5 comments The following profile was written by Joanne Butcher, BA Politics, University of Sheffield, and published here: Edna Adan Ismail: a Somali Inspiration Born in Hargeisa in 1937, Edna Adan Ismail is one of Somaliland’s most prominent public figures. From 1954 to 1961, she studied in Britain – the first Somali woman to do so – to become a nurse and midwife. After working as a civil...
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An Epic Journey to Somaliland

Posted on Sep 8, 2012 in Blog, Hospital News, Somaliland | 4 comments Explorer Christopher Stanfield is embarking on his most profound adventure to date… Trekking over land and sea, across the vast barren desert of north east Africa, from Port Sudan down through the Red Sea to Djibouti, across the immense Djibouti terrain descending into the rugged mass of Somaliland, continuing on to his final destination Edna Adan’s Maternity hospital. This world...
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Somaliland: A Pocket Of Stability In A Chaotic Region

Posted on Aug 29, 2012 in Somaliland | 0 comments America’s National Public Radio has broadcast a report from Somaliland, saying the country offers huge investment potential right now because it’s a wide open market without competition. A new investor could come in and gain a “tremendous market share.” The report centers on the new Coca Cola bottling plant. “Somalia is synonymous with failed states, pirates and...
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A French Doctor’s Perspective

Posted on Jan 2, 2012 in Hospital News | 0 comments The following is written by a volunteer at the Hospital, Dr. Brigitte Herant Dunais. A link sent by my son – I have no idea how he came across the Edna hospital website – prompted me to apply as a volunteer for the month of October 2011, an experience I do not regret. This was an opportunity to discover Somaliland, its people, its history and its plight as it strives to obtain recognition...
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Edna Lobbies London for Somaliland

Posted on Dec 8, 2011 in Edna Adan, Somaliland | 2 comments Following her presentation at the recent TEDx conference in Geneva, Switzerland, where she was invited to speak about ways to improve women’s health in developing countries, Edna went on to London. There, she met with Members of the British Parliament to discuss how important it is that the United Kingdom recognize the independence of Somaliland. Everybody knows that Edna feels...
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Visiting Medical Student’s Reflection

Posted on Sep 2, 2011 in Blog, Hospital News | 2 comments “Tell them the truth,” she instructed me. Those were the only guidelines Edna gave me when she encouraged me to write a post for her blog. The task sounded simple, but for many weeks after my return from Somaliland, I could not articulate all that I had experienced. Only now am I beginning to understand the reason behind my difficulty. The truth is that The Truth is much more...
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Somaliland’s Success Raises Doubts about Foreign Aid

Posted on Jul 25, 2011 in Blog, Edna Adan, Somaliland | 0 comments Here is a very interesting news article from London’s Daily Mail. The writer, Ian Birrell, met with Edna and says of her, “no one epitomises the nation’s indomitable spirit more than Edna Adan Ismail, or Dr Edna, as everyone knows her.” Turns out, the remarkable success of Somaliland – in spite of going unrecognized as an independent country – is being cited...
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Half The Sky coming to PBS

Posted on May 18, 2011 in Somaliland | 1 comment Countless many supporters of the Edna Hospital have come to us by way of the best-selling book Half The Sky, by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Those supporters, in particular, will be pleased to learn that there is a 6-hour documentary now being produced for broadcast on PBS. Primetime PBS Broadcast for Half the Sky The two-part, four-hour broadcast will premiere as a...
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The Importance of Contraception

Posted on May 9, 2011 in Somaliland | 0 comments Even as we were still reeling from the “avalanche” of donations prompted by Nicholas Kristof’s column last week, he – again – mentions Edna Hospital in his Sunday NY Times column. The context this time is sad. A woman died in Somaliland of complications from childbirth leaving 8 children without a mother. She is among about 350,000 women who die in childbirth...
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La Croix on Edna & Somaliland (in French)

Posted on Feb 11, 2011 in Somaliland | 0 comments Our readers may recall that Edna Adan spent some time in France in December, following her highly successful visit to Switzerland. The primary focus of the visit to Switzerland was to fight the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) while the visit to France was focused more on helping women suffering from Obstetric Fistula. Edna provided many interviews in France. This one touches on...
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Bachelor of Science Midwifery Programme

Posted on Dec 13, 2010 in Hospital News | 0 comments The University of Hargeisa (UoH), Edna Adan University Hospital (EAUH) and Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET) would like to announce their forthcoming BSc. Midwifery programme due to start in March 2011. This programme which is the first of its kind in Somaliland is designed to create a new cadre of midwives who will help to address maternal and infant health across the country. The BSc...
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Midwives’ Finals + American baby

Posted on Oct 24, 2010 in Hospital News | 0 comments Edna sends news, and photos, from the hospital today. “This morning, we had our First USA baby born at our hospital and delivered by one of our trained midwives. Emily Clarkson is the wife of one of the professors at Hargeisa University and chose to have the baby with us.” And, another group of Midwives will soon graduate. Edna’s goal is to train 1000 midwives at the hospital...
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Edna Adan Knighted by France

Posted on Apr 20, 2010 in Edna Adan | 2 comments On April 17, Edna Adan was presented the French Legion of Honor by the French Ambassador. This is France’s highest honor – grade de chevalier dans l’ordre de la Légion d’honneur. The decision to honor Edna with this title was made by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in this letter. As noted by the Ambassador in his speech conferring this honor, Edna might have chosen to...
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New Profile of Edna

Posted on Mar 13, 2010 in Edna Adan, Somaliland | 0 comments Lynn Sherr has published a new article profiling Edna Adan at the Daily Beast. Read Full Article at The Daily Beast “The biggest gift I want to leave behind is not a building, but the skills I leave with the women. I want to train 1,000 midwives.” Her progress so far is astounding. Since the hospital opened, they have delivered more than 9,500 women and lost only 39....
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Watch Video of Edna Adan at CGI

Posted on Sep 26, 2009 in Edna Adan | 9 comments The Clinton Global Initiative web site has made available video of the entire panel discussion PLENARY SESSION: INVESTING IN GIRLS AND WOMEN. Just click on the link and then click on WATCH NOW link near the photo of Edna Adan. At a time when the world finds itself on an unsustainable course, facing an increasing number of complex challenges for which traditional approaches are no longer...
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Somaliland Shows the Way

Posted on Jul 21, 2009 in Somaliland | 0 comments Somaliland: What Somalia Could Be is a new article written by Dr. J. Peter Pham recounting some of the history of both Somaliland and Somalia. Dr. Pham speaks highly of Edna Adan and of the hospital as an example of the good things that can happen in the presence of good governance. He discusses at length just how good government in Africa can come about. (And why it has failed to come about in...
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Community Midwives trained to Save Lives

Posted on Jun 24, 2009 in Hospital News | 0 comments We have just had the graduation of the first ever Community Midwives trained in Somaliland. This is the ‘new army’ that we have trained for 18 months at our hospital to assist women living in remote areas of our country where there have never been trained midwives before. These 21 Community Midwives will undoubtedly make a difference in the very high maternal and infant mortality...
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