Small Turkey Aid Organization undertakes the work to build standard mother and child Hospital in Mogadishu.
In bid to cope with the high infant mortality cases and scarcity of professional hospitals that can provide trust-able and affordable delivery health service to 2-million residents of Mogadishu as well as other regional resident who frequently visit Somali capital to meet their health needs, small turkey Aid Organization called Yardimeli takes the challenge to build first class Hospital for child and mother.
In the serene shores of the old Hamar-Jabab district in Mogadishu, hardworking turkey engineers are competing with time to put finishing touches to this magnificent Hospital project. when it will start to operate it would have the capacity to receive 500 patients each day with different health needs but mainly mothers and children. Highly qualified doctors and nurses from turkey will come to provide health services to its clients. “We want to build here a benchmark hospital for mother and child care with advanced facilities that can compete with other eastern African countries leading hospitals” said Mohmmad Akif -the co-coordinator officer for Yardimeli aid Organization
The hospital is also planned to have excellent health science teaching classes for Somali medicine students as well as parenting center for Somali orphans; a ground in which helicopters and small planes can land.
Mohammad Akif, the coordinator for the aid organization says according to the United Nations Children’s Fund reports the infant mortality rates is very high in Somalia- 188 infant deaths of every 1000 births only few countries like Afghanistan equates the number of infant deaths to Somalia; so he says they decided to build this hospital which will become, once inaugurated, the biggest and the most “advanced” hospital in East Africa. According to him ” we want to reduce the child mortality rates at least in the capital, we want to save the lives of mothers and infants who everyday die for curable cases
Almost free of charge
The health service of the hospital is almost free for the visitors except trifle charges designed to pay for utility bills as according to Mr Akif “we will ask visitors to pay minimal charges to keep the hospital run and deter disturbers who come for no particular need but Just to see how free Hospital looks like” he added “we decided to do this after we have made consultations with community bodies as well as Somali government” he said.
Product vs process
Turkey government and Turkey aid organizations unlike other western traditional donors implemented significant development projects in the country including modernization of Mogadishu Adan-Ade international Airport as well as the main sea-port, building roads, modern Hospitals, schools and expensive scholarships to hundred of Somali students.
“Turkey leadership and people showed the brotherhood ties between Turkey and Somalia. This brotherhood does not necessarily reflect state to state relations but this time turkey want to be sympathetic to Somali people” said Ahmed black – a political science lecturer at Somali International University.
This hospital can have significant impact on the health of child and mother in country. Somali Health Ministry needs to work closely with this organization and other turkey organizations who work in health sector to double the turkey health services reach.
