Professional Associations
Somaliland Medical Association
The Somaliland Medical Association (SMA) was established in 2005 as a non-political, non state actor formed by the professional medical doctors in Somaliland. The Association strives to provde doctors with access to information and training to further their professional development. Good practice is promoted through the creation and dissemination of publications on medical ethics and hospital emergency guidelines, in addition to allowing members access to a library of releveant material and access to the internet. The Association has been instrumental in managing the administration of new medical graduates into the country's official internship programme and in convening meetings to assess the programme's progress.. Alongside the SLNMA the SMA is a key driver of the Health Professionals Council (HPC), working in tandem with the Ministry of Health and Labour to promote good pracice amongst health professionals and safeguard the public from malpractice. THET and KCH have been asked to help address resource and policy issues of the healthcare system through support for the SMA, SLNMA and other existing partners, all of whom have assumed responsibility for rebuilding the health system of a nation.
Somaliland Nursing and Midwifery Association
The Somailand Nursing and Midwifery Association (SLNMA) champions issues relating to nursing and midwifery care in Somaliland. The Association assists the government in the promotion and regulation of nursing activities in country in addition to acting as an intermediary in employee-institution disputes. Created initially on a volunteer basis in 2004, the SLNMA was boosted considerably by the appointment of a formal Chief Executive and support staff in 2007.Since this time membership of the SLNMA has grown considerably accross the country leading to the formation of regional chapters in Togdheer and Awdal. The Association is currently working towards improving regulation in the country by introducing comptency audits and participating as an active member of the HPC. In addition to this the SLNMA has recently facilitated a review of the Somaliland nursing diploma curriculum helping to further harmonise nursing accross the country. The Association holds a national nurses and midwifes day every year on May the 6th to remind the country of the crucial role played by thse health professionals and to award certificates to individuals who have exemplified outstanding dedication to nursing and midwifery care. THET and Kings College Hospital have supported both the SLNMA and the SMA with funding from DFID since 2007.
Health Practioner Training Institutions
Amoud Medical School was established in 2001 to address the chronic shortage of doctors in Somaliland. Before the civil war Somali doctors graduated in Mogadishu, the end of the war in 1991 found the country in greater need of physicians than ever with a handful of doctors remaining in country and absolutley no training facilities available. Soon aftter its inception the school began requesting teaching visits from KCH who have provided regular external teaching visits offering additional training in areas where the faculty felt assistance was required. The university has also benefitted from South-South assistance with a university in Kenya. This partnership in training culminated in 2007 with the graduation of the first five doctors to have been trained on home soil, the graduatoin day was a national holiday. KCH provided external assistance in conducting the examinations of these 5 graduates and has assisted the faculty in conducting examinations since. To date 12 doctors have graduated from Amoud and have entered a two year internship programme working exclusively within the public sector, the doctors are mentored by educational supervisors. To set Amoud's acheivement into stonger relief, in 2006 a ministerial report estimated that there were only 90 doctors working within the public sector in country. At Amoud there is emphasis on community outreach, with all students taking responsibility for between 2-4 families in the rural village of Daraymacaane several kilometres outside the town.
The first cohort of doctors from the University of Hargeisa are due to graduate in the summer of 2009. As with Amoud Medical School the students pay weekly visits to rural village projects providing much needed consultations and also helping to immplement preventative health measures such as immunisation programmes and awareness raising. The students also learn the importance of collecting data and record keeping in order to map health trends in the areas. THET and KCH assist the university with support to the faculty in training in mental health and examination standards and procedures.The school ensures that all students have a grounding in community health during their education and the students have played key roles in the designing of community projects to improve health in the rural village of Sharmarke outside of the capital Hargeisa.
Edna Adan Maternity Hospital
Contruction of the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital began in 1998 on land donated by the government using the personal funds of Edna Adan's UN pension and private savings. Ahead of its opening in March 2002 intensive training took place to prepare the the first generation of nurse students in Somaliland since the civil war, and provide top up training to staff who, in some cases, had not received any educational support in the 20 years since they qualified. The hospital is a non-governmental, non profit-making hospital and nurse training school created to address the high maternal and child morbidity and mortality rates in the local community. KCH and THET have worked closely with the hospital since a team of KCH specialists in obstetrics, midwifery, paediatrics and anaesthesia first travelled to Somaliland to provide assistance in the teaching of this first cohort of nurses. The partnership has remainded ever since. The hospital remains a key instititution in the training of nurses, midwives and laboratory technicians in country. THET supports the hospital with funds from DFID in providing salary tops ups to key nurse tutors and in the provision of skills laboratory equipment and computers.
Hargeisa Institute of Health Sciences
The Hargeisa Institute of Health Sciences (HIoHS), is a government institution which re-opened in 2002. It aims to provide basic and post-basic training of nurses. The institute currently has over 120 student nurses, but resources remain scarce. KCH and THET have provided gap filling lectures in the past and salary support to the Director of the Institute in addition to supplying vital skills laboratory equipment and up to date texts for the library. In 2007 THET supported the creation of a nurse tutor training programme, a competitive entry programme baed at the Institute which is training a new generation of nurse leaders for the country. These nurse tutor students teach the first year nursing students at the HIOHS and also carry out teaching practice within clinical environments at the Hargeisa Groups Hospital. The programme consists of 9 modules which are supported with external technical assitance from THET KCH nurse educationalists who feed into the theory components of the module. The nurse tutors students also visit Maternal and Child Health Clinics (MCHs) during their helping to support community health care within the district..
Burao Nursing School
Burao Nursing School began in 2007 with one book and no classroom facilities, lessons were held under the shelter of trees. The resourcefulness of the community and the commitment of the nurse tutors led the nursing school to gather strong momentum and brought it to the attention of donors. Money transfer agency Dahabshiil donated funds to create new classrooms and skills laboratory equipment, books and vital salary support to the programme's nurse tutors were provided by THET through a DFID grant.
Boroma Nursing School
Hospital management
Hargeisa Group Hospital
In 2003, the Hargeisa Group Hospital (HGH), the main government hospital, requested assistance from the KCH THET Link. The HGH was built in 1953 for a population of 30,000 and now serves a city of over 700,000 people, as well as the northwest region of Somaliland. It is one of only three acute district hospitals serving the 2 million Somaliland population. Furthermore, many patients seen at HGH are Ethiopian refugees, who may have travelled there from beyond the border on foot to reach an appropriate health care facility. The initial KCH and THET work at the hospital was the refurbishment and reorganisation of the A&E department with a two week emergency skills course. A 6 month audit of the assessment of major trauma in the A&E department was undertaken. Since then, work has been undertaken to train HGH staff in orthopaedics and rehabilitation, develop the theatres complex as well as working with local partners to improve management and record- keeping systems.
Regional Health Board