Edna Hospital of Somaliland

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 rate in our country.

We are proud and happy to have been able to conduct this training at our hospital. Some of the many photos taken during Graduation, which was attended by the Minister of Health of Somaliland, have been added to our Edna Hospital Gallery.

The course was funded by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Here is a look at the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital, as seen from space:

Click above to view the entire map. Notice that you can use the controls to zoom in and out, or click on the map itself and drag it.

Also, please note that the satellite image is presently a few years out of date and there have been several extensions to the hospital since the time of this photo.

The Los Angeles Times has published an article about Somaliland, its quest for international recognition, its history, and its achievements. The news is not all good but Human Rights Watch says, “The government in Somaliland has a better human rights record than any other government in the Horn, including Kenya.”

For most of the last decade, Somaliland’s governance and human rights record have drawn praise, particularly compared with those of its neighbors. Somaliland boasts free speech and private newspapers. Its population voluntarily disarmed, reconciled and made the transition to an elected, civilian government.

By contrast, Somalia continues to struggle with no fully functioning government. Ethiopia has been accused of heavy-handed crackdowns against its citizens. Eritrea has no elections or free press.

Read the complete article: Somaliland strives to stand out in troubled region

Saving Somaliland is a radio interview conducted by Radio Netherlands Worldwide (in English!) in which you can hear Edna speak about her work.

Despite the grave problems that the whole region is facing, such as piracy, terrorist violence and drought, Edna Adan has been able to build a private hospital that focuses on mother and child care in the self-declared independent republic of Somaliland.

…To see Edna Adan at work in the hospital is quite enjoyable. Her energy and good spirits are a joy for everybody. She walks through the corridors of the hospital full of energy and has time for a casual, or business, talk with everybody she meets. It so clear that this woman has a vision and a mission that she will pursue.

Iraqi Kurdish four-year-old Shwen screams during her circumcision in Suleimaniyah on April 14, 2009. The parliament in Iraq’s northern autonomous region of Kurdistan is preparing to outlaw female circumcision, according to a woman MP and a doctor who had long battled to halt the widespread practice. The German non-government group Wadi carried out research in 201 villages in the autonomous provinces and in the predominantly Kurdish Kirkuk area in September. It found that 3,502 out of 5,628 women and girls surveyed had been mutilated — an average of more than 62 percent. While widespread in the African continent, it is not known how female circumcision was introduced into northern Iraq. The practice, encouraged by some clerics, does not appear to exist in other parts of the country. By Safin Hamed/AFP/Getty Images. (Thanks to Andrew Sullivan)

This brief video from the Voice of America features an interview with Edna Adan.

The people of the African republic of Somaliland voted in 1991 to become an independent nation. They argue that there are enough cultural, political and social differences between them and the people of Somalia to make Somaliland a separate country, as was the case briefly in 1960. But the world has not yet formally recognized an independent Somaliland, a cause dear to the hearts of its people. Cathy Majtenyi files this report for VOA on the push for international recognition.

Somalilanders stress that their country is peaceful and orderly — a fully functional state in sharp contrast to the chaotic warlord system and weak central government of Somalia.

The British had a strong presence in Somaliland by the late 1800s, with Somaliland becoming a British protectorate, separate from Italian-ruled lands to the south.

Berbera port also served the US navy in the 1980s during the first Gulf war.

We are so pleased that the Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Nicolas Kristof has, once again, linked here from his Blog at the New York Times.

A Stoning in Somalia

Incidentally, for anyone interested in Somalia, there is a superb aid project in the northern breakaway republic of Somaliland: a maternity hospital run by Edna Adan, a former U.N. official who used her savings and pension to build the hospital and fight death in childbirth. Edna is truly waging a heroic battle to improve health care and raise the status of women among Somalis, and it’s being supported by various Americans who know Edna and have been moved by her work. I visited her and have this video of her work.

Edna Adan has published a new article which summarizes the health issues facing women and infants in Somaliland. Here are a few excerpts:

My theory is that women in Somaliland die because of ignorance on their part and on the part of those assisting them. Poverty is a strong factor that prevents women from seeking help because they convince themselves that they cannot afford the cost of modern medicine and would rather consult the local traditional healer who often causes more complications.

As far as African women are concerned… We fare the worst compared to women in other continents. In my 48-year experience as a midwife, I see very little improvement in the conditions under which our women progress through their pregnancies and childbirth. It’s a situation that shocks me even more today when I witness the advances that have been made in medical care elsewhere during the past half-century.

What leads the women of our continent to their graves during pregnancy and childbirth? As I describe below, the reasons fall into six categories: nutrition, education, high fertility, female genital mutilation, improper care at delivery and inadequate health facilities.

Read the Full Article:

On The Issues Magazine: Fall 2008: The Terror of Motherhood in Somaliland and Women’s Rights to Safe Care by Edna Adan Ismail

Nicolas Kristof, the Pulitzer Prize winning columnist at the New York Times, writing in a new blog entry has again cited Edna Adan as being someone whom he “hugely” admires.

I’ve often recommended that young people go and live abroad for a time, the better to understand the world — and also the better to see their own country. Somaliland is a wonderful little country, and I can’t imagine a more remarkable experience than spending a year teaching at Edna’s hospital.

Read the Complete Article

Mr. Kristof’s article, When Aid Harms, is written in response to the following message to him from Edna.

I am writing to you in desperation because we have lost ten of our best qualified nurses and midwives to International NGOs who do not support us during the training but who snatch the best from us with salary offers that we cannot match. Somehow, we seem to have become victims of our success because our nurses are the best in the country. We train four times what our hospital needs but still cannot cover the demand for good and responsible nurses. My greatest need is for Nurse/Midwife trainers for the next couple of years so that I can get the current 70 students in training graduated. We would welcome Interns to teach English, basic Sciences, and if possible, Nursing subjects. We are also willing to pay a salary of $800 a month plus food and accommodation to qualified midwife trainers, as well as the air ticket.

The new Edna Adan shop is now open for business at Cafe Press! There are lots of different items to choose among. We hope you find something that you will enjoy.

Only, please remember that the prices here all reflect our cost exactly. The Edna Hospital makes nothing when you purchase things here. But we do want you to have the opportunity to show the world how proud you are to be among the active supporters of the hospital.

Edna Hospital Shop at Cafe Press : www.cafepress.com/ednahospital

Our friend Devin Foxall visited Somaliland and made this really marvelous video to introduce Edna, the hospital, and Somaliland itself.

Here is Devin’s second video from Somaliland. This one is a little more focused on the country itself but it also includes an interview with Edna Adan Ismail, who, previously served as Somaliland’s foreign minister between 2003 and 2006.

Welcome to the new Blog of the Edna Hospital. We hope that this new feature will develop into a convenient way for the representatives of the Hospital to share information about recent events among all of the many supporters of the Hospital.

Your comments to these Blog entries are always welcome!

This report appeared previously on the main web site and has been transferred here.

by Jennie Goutet, HOPE worldwide

March 9, 2002 was a monumental day in Somaliland as the first nonprofit, teaching maternity hospital in Hargeisa opened at 9:00 a.m.

Opening Ceremonies at the Edna Hospital

After four years of planning and construction, the Vice President, Dahir Riyale Kahin, cut the ribbon and led the procession into the hospital to tour the Operating Theatre, Maternity Ward and Pediatric Ward.

Witnessing the Opening

The opening of Edna Adan Maternity Hospital is a victory.

Witnessing the Opening

The site once used as a mass killing field during the civil war for independence (1988-1990) under Siad Barre’s reign, is now a haven for bringing new life into the world.

Currently, it is estimated that

• Ten women die each day during childbirth
• One out of every eight children dies before they reach one year of age
• One child out of every five won’t reach the age of five

The hospital presents a hope that these statistics will soon change for the better.

The first baby, delivered the following day

The first proud mother

In the first month, 74 patients delivered babies, one mother already saved from a certain death due to hemorrhage. One caesarian section was performed successfully on March 16, with mother and child both doing fine.

With the crisp appearance of the wards and the sterile, modern equipment in the operating theatre (thanks to the donations of the hospital’s supporters), patients are sometimes reluctant to go home. They are confident that all their needs will be attended to by the team of dedicated workers at the hospital.

Edna Adan Ismail has reason to celebrate. The child of a prominent doctor, her dream for helping the sick began at an early age. She has poured her life and savings into seeing this hospital open, and is rejoicing at its success. It’s not the first hospital she attempted to build; the first was in Mogadishu (1984 to 1988) and was taken over when civil war erupted and regretfully was never brought to completion.

The Edna Adan hospital in Hargeisa, Somaliland is a true testimony to Edna’s perseverance and dream to help her people fight to live free of disease and sickness.

Celebration following the ceremony

This report appeared previously on the main web site and has been transferred here

Reported by Jennie Goutet, HOPE worldwide

The first regional consultative seminar on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) was held for the countries of the Horn of Africa February 19-21, 2002. Seminar attendees gathered from Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somaliland and Somalia (Bosaso, Mogadishu) to discuss ways to end this barbaric ritual.

FGM dates back to ancient Egypt when young girls would be circumcised to ensure that those sent to the Pharaoh would always be a virgin. The practice continues today in the form of circumcision or mutilation all throughout Africa and parts of the Middle East. The mutilation is usually done in rural areas, without anaesthesia, and with a dull and dirty razor blade, knife or bone that kills many of the girls due to complications.

Among the speakers at the Seminar were representatives of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Religion. They discussed the health concerns that FGM poses in the young girl as well as during her childbearing years. The Qur’aan was read and an expert in religion proved that the Qur’aan does not support bodily mutilation, and that the practice is therefore contrary to the predominant religion in the very countries where it is practiced.

Efforts were focused primarily on collaboration between these countries in the efforts to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation by sending out a common message and developing strategies and educational material in Somali, which is spoken in all of these countries. It was jointly agreed upon that February 21 would annually be recognized as FGM Day and that the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital would be the center of cooperation and communication for the Horn of Africa on FGM-related issues.