Edna Adan was born the daughter of a prominent Somali medical doctor[2] and was trained as a nurse in the United Kingdom at the Borough Polytechnic, now London South Bank University (the first Somali girl to study in Britain [1]), becoming Somalia's first qualified nurse-midwife [2].[3] She was also the first Somali woman to drive
She started building a hospital in Mogadishu in the mid-1980s. However, before it was completed, the Somali Civil War began, and she was forced to leave the country. She was the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Nursing Adviser during 1986. From 1987 to 1991, she was Regional Technical Officer for Mother and Child Health, with responsibility for issues relating to harmful traditional practices which affect the health of women and children (such as female genital mutilation), and for training of midwives and Traditional Birth Attendants in the 22 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region of WHO. Afterwards, she was the representative of WHO in Djibouti between 1991 and 1997.
She returned to Somaliland and built from scratch a maternity hospital, which she continues to run. The Edna Adan Maternity Hospital officially opened on March 9, 2002 in land donated to her by the regional government at a site formerly used as a garbage dump.
The region lacked trained nurses to staff the hospital[4] - as most had either fled the country or been killed during the civil war - and so Edna recruited more than 30 candidates and began training them in 2000 while the hospital was still under construction. The hospital now has two operating theatres, laboratory, library, computer center and a complete wing dedicated to training nurses and midwives.
The mission of the Edna Adan Hospital is to help to improve the health of the local inhabitants, in particular the high rate of maternal and infant mortality. The facility is a non-profit making charity and a midwifery teaching hospital that is also undertaking the training of student nurses and Assistant Laboratory Technicians.
Edna is now trying to expand to other areas of Somaliland and is in the process of training a 1000 midwifes to be dispached to the various regions of Somaliland. Edna is also opening new clinics.
http://www.ednahospital.org/
Sada Mire:
From CNN: When Sada Mire fled war-torn Somalia as a frightened teenager, the nation was descending into darkness, mired in the grip of a long civil conflict.
But several years later, when she returned to the Horn of Africa as an ambitious archaeologist, her fierce determination and meticulous fieldwork brought to light the region’s rich cultural heritage.
In 2007, her archaeological pursuits resulted in the discovery of 5,000-year-old rock art in Somaliland, a breakaway state in the northwest corner of Somalia.
The prehistoric findings, which include renderings of animals as well as human figures, are significant in enhancing understanding about the prehistoric way of life across the region, says Mire.
Somaliland’s first archaeologist, Mire is now on a mission to preserve and protect what she says is a heritage at risk of disappearing.
Website: http://www.somaliheritage.org/
Eleni Zaude Gabre-Madhin
Eleni Zaude Gabre-Madhin is an Ethiopian economist who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX).
She was the main driving force behind the development of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX). Whilst working as a researcher for the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) she examined agricultural markets for many years and noticed, as had many others, that whilst in some years or regions there were severe shortages or droughts in others there were surpluses or bumper harvests. Specifically in her 2002 survey of grain traders in 2002, she found that a key factor was the lack of effective infrastructure and services needed for grain markets to function properly. Traders often failed to have access to sufficient credit, information about the market, transportation and other vital resources and contract compliance was difficult to enforce.
In 2004 she moved home from the US to lead an IFPRI program to improve Ethiopia's agricultural policies and markets. Specifically she undertook the important role of coordinating the advisory body developing the ECX. In 2010 (2002 ET calendar), Dr. Eleni was given the "Ethiopian Person of the Year" honor for the 2002 Ethiopian year. [2]
Gabre-Madhin, who will serve as CEO of the new exchange, argued that "(W)hen farmers can sell their crops on the open market and get a fair price, they will have much more incentive to be productive, and Ethiopia will be much less prone to food crises" .... and that the "ECX will allow farmers and traders to link to the global economy, propelling Ethiopian agriculture forward to a whole new level."[3]
http://www.ecx.com.et/
Dr. Ciise Keyd
Essa Kayd, a chief neurodiagnostic specialist of Somaliland origin based in Boston, U.S. announced he will be opening a state of the art Clinic for neurophysiology in Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa.
The clinic will be a joint investment between Kayd and Ethiopia’s leading neurologist Dr. Sisay Gizaw from Addis Ababa Medical School. Kayd received his education in Ottawa University and Harvard Medical School. Mr. Kayd is the chief Neurodiagnostic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School in Boston. He occasionally travels to Africa to offer his time; gives training to leading doctors in the continent. He is also trains physicians at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Medical School. Brigham and Women’s Medical Hospital is ranked one of the top hospitals in the US by U.S. News & World Report Top Hospitals. He has been helping Addis Ababa’s main hospital for the past several months, where he noticed most of their patients were Somalis who had travelled miles for the treatment. He opened his first clinic in Addis Ababa early this year and plans to open one in Hargeisa in early April.
Before they open their clinic, the two doctors will be offering three day neurodiagnostics training at Edna Adan Hospital in Hargeisa. Interested individuals are advised to call Edna Hospital or contact Dr
