Edna Adan Maternity Hospital is a
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
charity
hospital built in
Hargeisa
Hargeisa (; so, Hargeysa, ar, هرجيسا) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland. It is located in the Maroodi Jeex region of the Horn of Africa. It succeeded Burco as the capital of the British Somaliland Protector ...
,
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
. It was northwestern
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
region's former
foreign minister and former
first lady of
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
,
Edna Adan Ismail
Edna Adan Ismail ( so, Edna Aadan Ismaaciil ama Adna Aadan Ismaaciil) (born 8 September 1937) is a nurse midwife, activist and was the first female Foreign Minister of Somaliland from 2003 to 2006. She previously served as Somaliland's Minis ...
. The hospital has as its primary mission to provide better health care to people whose lives have been traumatized by war, and also to provide training for nurses, midwives, and other health workers. In addition to services and facilities relating specifically to maternal and infant health care, the hospital has diagnostic laboratory facilities and an emergency
blood bank
A blood bank is a center where blood gathered as a result of blood donation is stored and preserved for later use in blood transfusion. The term "blood bank" typically refers to a department of a hospital usually within a Clinical Pathology laborat ...
, and offers diagnosis and treatment for
sexually transmitted diseases
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral ...
.
The hospital seeks to fill not only the urgent need for health care but also to provide — in collaboration with the Ministry of Health,
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
, and
WHO
Who or WHO may refer to:
* Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun
* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism
* World Health Organization
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...
– training for a new generation of
nurses
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...
and
midwives
A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery.
The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...
qualified to provide
Reproductive Health
Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, healthcare, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual wellbeing during all stages of their life.
The term can also be further de ...
care throughout the Northwestern Somalia.
Another aspect of the hospital's mission is to combat the practice of
female circumcision
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...
, which is endemic to the region. Mothers of newborn girls are counseled on the dangers of having their child circumcised, but the tradition is strongly ingrained in the culture.
History
Following the
Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War ( so, Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; ar, الحرب الأهلية الصومالية ) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Bar ...
, the entire health infrastructure of Somaliland was effectively destroyed and there were few, if any, trained medical personnel remaining in the region. The rate of maternal and infant mortality was among the highest in the world. Edna Adan donated her
U.N.
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
pension and other personal assets to build the hospital so that she might help to address the grave health crisis.
Needing, first of all, a place to build her hospital, she asked the government for land near the city center. They responded by offering her 9600 square meters which previously had served as a garbage dump.
The construction of the hospital was started on January 1, 1998 and as it progressed, private individuals, business people in Somaliland and elsewhere, as well as international organizations, also made valuable contributions enabling the hospital to become functional on the March 9, 2002.
Direct Relief
Direct Relief (formerly known as Direct Relief International) is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides emergency medical assistance and disaster relief in the United States and internationally.
The organization is headed by an inde ...
describes the hospital as Somaliland's premier referral center for obstetric emergencies. The hospital trains nurses and midwives under the close supervision of Mrs. Ismail, herself a trained nurse, whose residence is inside of the hospital.
The hospital is supported by two charities: The Edna Adan Foundation first became a
registered charity in 2016 in the UK.
The oldest charity, established in 2000, is the non-profit Friends of Edna's Maternity Hospital; it maintains an endowment fund to ensure the continuation of Edna's work long into the future.
See also
*
East Bardera Mothers and Children's Hospital
References
External links
*
*
The Terror of Motherhood in Somaliland On The Issues
Saving Somaliland radio interview
Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Radio Netherlands (RNW; nl, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012.
Its services i ...
On Maternal Mortality, Why Africa Falls So Far Behindarticle at RH Reality Check
*
{{Authority control
Hospital buildings completed in 2002
Hospitals established in 2002
Maternity hospitals in Somaliland
Organisations based in Hargeisa
2002 establishments in Somaliland
Hospitals in Somaliland