The hospital treats nearly 100 kids every day – dealing with everything from trauma to premature birth to illnesses both large and small.
It is the biggest hospital in Somaliland, providing services to people who come from as far away as Ethiopia and the Dabaab refugee camp in Kenya. This kind of caseload is not cheap to maintain, so when UNDP offered to provide a solar power system for the hot water – part of a program to promote alternative energy use across the country – the hospital was keen to see the results. With the savings, they’ve have been able to subsidize medicine and have hired extra cleaners, which is more important than ever now that COVID-19 has crossed the border. Several cases of the disease have already been identified and measures to improve cleanliness in essential public buildings, like hospitals, will play a role in keeping future numbers as low as possible.
The UN Joint Program on for Sustainable Charcoal Reduction and Alternative Livelihoods aims to reduce demand for charcoal while also providing Somalis with alternative options for clean energy and sustainable livelihoods. It is a combined effort from three UN agencies: UNDP, UNEP and the FAO. For more details on the situation, what the project does and what it has achieved.
Mohamed Aden Sheikh – Children Teaching Hospital provides free care to the population of Somaliland under the age of 14. Conceived and created in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Somaliland, with the University of Turin and with the “Regina Margherita” Pediatric Hospital in Turin, it is a second level and continuously growing healthcare facility.
It is the only real clinical alternative for the local population, both for its international standards and for the daily contribution it provides
In Somaliland, there is a real humanitarian and health emergency: about 250 children per 1,000 die in the first five years of life, from malnutrition, dysentery, respiratory problems. Until 2012, there was no free hospital helping families in the capital Hargeisa.
Somaliland is also a state that has declared itself independent. This created two paradoxical situations. Somaliland is a peaceful state that offers thousand possibilities far from war. In addition, that is why thousands of refugees go there from all over the Horn of Africa. Nevertheless, at the same time the international community does not recognize it. This slows down or prevents humanitarian aid that is usually crucial for these cases.
Since January 26, 2013 – the day of the beginning of the clinical activity – over 75,000 children have been treated by MAS CHILDREN to date, just over half of them under the age of five. The hospital staff visit around 50 children every day.
Patients have different pathologies: the most common are gastrointestinal ones, which especially young children suffer from, and those affecting the respiratory tract. However, congenital heart disorders, sickle cell anemias, suspected or confirmed HIV cases are also treated.