Hiiraan Online

By sheer dedication and determination these students have completed 6 years of study in Mogadishu, one of the most violent cities in the world. These students have dodged bullets to become doctors. They could easily have joined one of the militia groups and disappeared into the civil war but instead of becoming part of the problem, they chose to become part of the solution. In fact, they chose to accomplish something that nobody else in Somalia has achieved in nearly two decades. There should have been twenty two graduates but tragically two were killed recently.

The worst thing that most medical students in other countries have to worry about on their way to their universities is the traffic. Medical students in Mogadishu worry about getting through the day alive. 19-year old Hafsa Abdirahman Mohamed said, “Every morning I risked my life to reach the university, and about seven times I was trapped under crossfire. But that did not stop me, and now my dream is real.” 24-year old Fadumo Abdulkadir Hassan described her experiences like this: “There were times when we could not get to the college. Other times we could not leave and had to spend the night inside the college because it was too dangerous to leave.” 22-year old Yahye Abdi-rahman expressed his delight: "Few can believe that education is available in a city of bullets and violence. But God is great, we have overcome all the problems and now we can enjoy the fruit of our resilience."

The Somali health system desperately needs a new stock of doctors. Mohamed Qayad who has looked into Somali healthcare services notes “that the doctor/population ratio is one to 31,000 and the nurse/population ratio is one nurse to 20,000 people.” In a country with a population of nearly 8 million, there were only 240 physicians and 358 nurses in 2004. The civil war in Somalia has pushed most medical professionals out of the country. These new doctors are declaring that they have every intention of increasing Somalia’s health manpower stock. Fadumo Hassan says, “We cannot all leave. Who will take care of the people?”

It is not only the imbalance between doctors and patients that is depressing. Every aspect of health care in the country is in crisis. Mark Bowden, the chief U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, said early in December 2008 that 3.2 million people or 40 percent of the population need humanitarian assistance. UNICEF says that about 300,000 Somali children are acutely malnourished. Christian Balslev-Olesen, the head of UNICEF for Somalia, said: “The level of malnutrition in Somalia is higher than anywhere in the world, even higher than Darfur.” Life expectancy is 46 years for men and 49 for women. The maternal mortality rate is believed to be at 1,600 per 100,000 live births. More than 70 percent of the population have no access to safe water and almost no access to sanitation. There are nearly 1.1 million internally displaced people.

The graduation ceremony held inside the barricaded walls of the Shamo Hotel reflects the environment that these new doctors are required to work in. These doctors are likely to work in Mogadishu where fighting between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces and their Ethiopian allies and resistance groups is a daily event. They will be working in hospitals without diagnostic facilities and with patients who are too poor to finance their medical care. Despite these daunting problems these young doctors have shown their determination to put their training into practice. 20-year old Na'ima Abdulkadir Mohamed made this promise: "This is a really good moment of my life. I want to work and help my people with this new talent and I'm not leaving,"

This is an inspiring moment for the Somali health system. Well done Benadir University.