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....
read more

2012: A Full Year with no Maternal Deaths

Posted on Jan 10, 2013 in Blog, Hospital News | 17 comments The following article is written by Penny Armstrong to commemorate an entire year at Edna Hospital without any Maternal Deaths: The year 2012 has come to an end at the Edna Hospital and, thankfully, this is the first year that the hospital reports no maternal deaths. The statistics have been compiled. In and of themselves they are impressive, but it is the stories behind the statistics that...
read more

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...
read more

21 Midwives Awarded Bachelor of Science Degrees

Posted on Sep 16, 2012 in Hospital News | 6 comments “Today was a big day in my life and a big day for Midwives and a big day for Somaliland! “My daughters – 21 of them! – graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Midwifery. “The President of Somaliland and other dignitaries were there for the total of 640 students who were graduating from Hargeisa University. Our sincere gratitude goes to the Friends of the Edna...
read more

International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Posted on May 3, 2012 in Hospital News | 3 comments We at Edna Hospital have this week been host to team of doctors from International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG) who are training 24 nurses and midwives in the use of ultrasound. This will contribute to saving countless lives. The team covered topics from How to Optimize Use of the Ultrasound, Early Pregnancy, Ectopic Pregnancy, Basic Fetal Measurements and The 6...
read more

Edna in Washington

Posted on Mar 8, 2012 in Edna Adan | 4 comments Edna was invited to Capitol Hill to participate in the 4th Annual International Women’s Day Breakfast, sponsored by Women Thrive Worldwide, on March 1. Edna spoke about the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Following some members of Congress, and others, Edna’s presentation about FGM begins soon past the 38-minute mark. See below for a complete video of this event. “When...
read more

Skirball Center Interview

Posted on Jan 4, 2012 in Edna Adan, Somaliland | 0 comments The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles has published an account of Edna’s visit there in late November, including an interview. Edna discusses the challenges she faced in building the hospital and talks about her work now. “I try to give women in my community an opportunity. They are my army, my soldiers.” The Skirball is host to an exhibit Women Hold Up Half the Sky based...
read more

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...
read more

Into Africa: A Somaliland Experience

Posted on Nov 8, 2011 in Hospital News, Somaliland | 0 comments Elayne Clift is a writer from Vermont who recently volunteered two weeks of service at the Edna Hospital. A writer! You know what that means? It means there’s now a perceptive and beautifully-written journal entry which can help you better to understand the life of the Hospital and the culture of Somaliland. She is not real happy about the treatment of women in Somaliland…. I am...
read more

Female Genital Mutilation

Posted on Oct 4, 2011 in Edna Adan, Hospital News | 2 comments Famous blogger, Andrew Sullivan, nowadays blogging at The Daily Beast, has helped to put a spotlight onto the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Yesterday, he wrote about an Egyptian woman who participated in the uprising in Cairo early this year and who had, herself, suffered FGM: In 2006, when she was 24, Ziada had a long debate with an uncle about her seven-year-old cousin Shaimaa,...
read more

Every Woman Every Child

Posted on Sep 22, 2011 in Edna Adan | 0 comments Edna Adan was in New York City to make a presentation at a United Nations meeting of Every Woman Every Child. The group was launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Summit in September 2010, Every Woman Every Child aims to save the lives of 16 million women and children by 2015. It is an unprecedented global effort that mobilizes and...
read more

Somalia’s Mother Theresa Fights Famine

Posted on Jun 26, 2011 in Somaliland | 1 comment Here is a new report in The Daily Beast about the situation in neighboring Somalia, where Dr. Hawa Abdi has carved out a safe-haven for 100,000 refugees amid the warfare. The women who run the camp now face a grave new threat – famine. Read Full Report at The Daily Beast East Africa has been struck hard by drought and people are dying. Nowhere is the situation worse than in Somalia....
read more

FGM: Torturing Girls

Posted on May 12, 2011 in Somaliland | 0 comments In the third article in a series from Somaliland, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof writes about the persistence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) despite concentrated efforts to eliminate the practice. “This is one of the most pervasive human rights abuses worldwide, with three million girls mutilated each year in Africa alone, according to United Nations estimates. A hospital...
read more

150 Women Who Shake the World

Posted on Mar 12, 2011 in Edna Adan | 0 comments The annual Women in the World Summit is going on now in New York City. Edna Adan is participating again this year, and she has been named to this list of 150 women who shake the world. Complete list of world-shaking women Newsweek and The Daily Beast Honor 150 Extraordinary Women “They are heads of state and heads of household, angry protesters in the city square and sly iconoclasts in...
read more

African Communities Abandon FGM

Posted on Feb 6, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments All across Africa, thousands of communities are abandoning the practice of Female Genital Mutilation, establishing a new social norm. Julia Lalla-Maharajh reports for The Daily Beast from The Gambia: For me, the most incredible sight was the former cutters dressed in long red shifts, swaying briskly into the center of the square to the rapid beat of a drum, carrying leafy branches. They...
read more

Gathering to Fight Obstetric Fistula

Posted on Jan 1, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments Some of the most urgent work undertaken by the Edna Hospital is to provide surgery to women suffering from Obstetric Fistula. International Society of Obstetric Fistula Surgeons (ISOFS) held a meeting earlier this month in Senegal where fistula surgeons and health professionals came together to share diverse experiences, research findings, and recommendations for improving quality of treatment,...
read more

FGM Outlawed in Switzerland

Posted on Dec 20, 2010 in Blog, Edna Adan | 0 comments What follows is a message to Edna from Switzerland bringing news that her recent 3 week tour there has helped to bring about a new law against Female Genital Mutilation in that country. Adults may not give legal consent for their young daughters to undergo the procedure and may be held criminally liable in the event the procedure does take place. Dear Edna Adan, Once again I want to thank you...
read more

Edna will visit France

Posted on Dec 11, 2010 in Edna Adan | 0 comments Edna Adan has concluded 3 weeks of presentations and meetings in Switzerland where she has been the invited guest of the NGO Terre des Femmes. Edna has been speaking to all sorts of groups, as well as the media, on the topic of Female Genital Mutilation. The final meeting was a roundtable held at the Swiss Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bern. Attending, were Board Members and active...
read more

Edna Interviewed (in French)

Posted on Dec 3, 2010 in Edna Adan | 2 comments While Edna Adan continues her visit to Switzerland, as the guest of Voix des Femmes (Voices of Women), she was interviewed from the snowy capital city of Bern on television, in French. We are happy to note that Edna appears warmly dressed. Recommend on FacebookTweet about it...
read more

Edna in Snowy Switzerland

Posted on Nov 28, 2010 in Edna Adan | 1 comment We are finishing up work on the Edna Hospital’s year-end newsletter. That should be going out in a few days. Meanwhile, Edna is visiting Switzerland for three weeks, participating in a series of events relating to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). She is the honored guest of Voix des Femmes (Voices of Women) and they appear to be taking very good care of her. Edna’s note follows:...
read more

Edna in Switzerland for FGM

Posted on Nov 2, 2010 in Edna Adan | 0 comments Edna Adan will participate in a conference later this month, Voix de Femmes (Voices of Women), in Bern, Switzerland. The topic will involve female genital mutilation as practiced in Somaliland. “TERRE DES FEMMES Suisse s’engage pour les droits des femmes et des filles en Suisse. Pour sensibiliser la population aux différentes formes de violences et de discriminations envers...
read more