The existence of a state-of-the-art maternity hospital in Hargeisa, Somaliland is a miracle. Home to 3.5 million people the breakaway republic of Somaliland sits in the Horn of Africa bordering Ethiopia, Djibouti and the Gulf of Aden. Rates of maternal mortality in this patriarchal society are among the highest in the world due to lack of medical services for women and children.
Edna Adan Realizes her Life's Dream to Build a Hospital in her Hometown
Every year, one baby in eight dies in infancy while nearly 4000 Somali women die in childbirth. Born in Hargeisa in 1937, Edna Adan Ismail was haunted by these facts and followed her life's dream. The seeds were planted when growing up in Somaliland - then a British protectorate - watching her father practice medicine in a poorly equipped government hospital. Edna was one of the first Somali women from this region who had the opportunity to study in the West, She became a nurse-midwife and served in senior positions in the World Health Organization (WHO) for almost three decades. After she retired from the WHO she dedicated her pension and personal assets to build a hospital in her hometown Hargeisa.
Edan Adan Wants to Train 1,000 Midwives
It is the hospital's mission to rebuild Somaliland's health care system which was destroyed in a long civil war. Edna's ambitious goal is to train health care workers and 1000 midwives. Another very important mission is to fight the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) which is endemic throughout this region. Edna's genitals were cut when she was 8 years old, against the wish of her father who was out of town at the time. Female Genital Mutilation affects and damages the perineum and the pelvic floor muscles of women and is a major cause of laceration of the perineum during childbirth.
Edna's Hospital Was Built With the Help of Private Donations
When Edna Adan announced that she wanted to put her life savings into building a maternity hospital in Somaliland she didn't meet any encouragement. Somaliland is a breakaway republic carved from Somalia that no one recognizes and does not attract big supporters. Edna ignored the naysayers and started construction in 1998. The hospital became functional in 2002. Instrumental in raising funds for the completion of the hospital was an American non-profit registered in Minnesota "Friends of Edna's Hospital". The group was founded by Anne Gilhuly and Tara Holbrook who read about Edna's ambitious dream in the New York Times. Friends of Edna's Hospital accept donations via Paypal.
Millennium Goal 5 - Improve Maternal Health
Target 5 of the 8 Millennium Development Goals is to reduce maternal mortality rates worldwide by increasing access to health care services during and after a pregnancy. In Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa most women deliver their babies without skilled care. Edna Adan, who lives in her hospital, has done more than her share to improve maternal health in her corner of the world by training Somali midwives to serve in remote areas. Training a midwife at Edna’s hospital costs a reasonable $215 a month for 18 months — no price tag can be attached to the fact that every trained midwife will save mothers and babies for many years to come.
New York Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof counts Edna among his heroes: "She’s a tireless 73-year-old whose passion is to save her countrywomen’s lives, get them access to family planning and end female genital mutilation."
Watch a video on Edna Adan Maternity Hospital by Nicholas Kristof.
Sources:
- Kristof, Nicholas D., Beyond Flowers for Mom, New York Times, March 4, 2011.
- Kristof Nicholas D. and WuDunn Sheryl, Half the Sky, Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, New York, 2009.
- Sherr, Lynn, Somaliland's Healer of Women, The Daily Beast, March 13, 2010.
Join the Conversation