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The caring
and compassionate face of Somaliland
Beautiful, outspoken,
elegant, educated, intellectual and astute, Edna Aden
Ismail was indeed a perfe ct former foreign
affairs minister of Somaliland, the wife of the late
presi dent M.I.Egal, the founder & director of Edna
Hospital and a tireless campaigner for go od
causes in Somaliland.
The University of Pretoria has picked Edna’s exceptional
love for humanity and decided this week (10th Dec 09) to
award her with the Chancellors medal for her outstanding
contribution to humanity, and particularly with regard
to helping the under-privileged people of Somaliland,
especially the women and children to realize their
rights to health, coincide sharply with Human Rights
debates across the globe.
Dr. Edna’s contributions are by far unmatched. She
centered her contributions on a ma tter that
hau nts nations as powerful as the US and Canada, being
the health issue. She is indeed a trailblazer and pace
setter. We owe her a duty to follow in her shoes and do
what men of civilized nations do; that is to fix our
house firstly.
It was indeed an honor to witness well known professors
and academics, UN ambassa dors, governme nt
officials, members from the civil societies at large,
addressing about Dr. Edna’s passion for serving humanity
to some 29 LLM graduates and large very imp ortant
audiences.
Dr. Edna is the first woman in Somalia/Somaliland to
qualify as a nurse, the first woman to be appoint
ed a director in the government, the first to speak out
against female ge nital mutilation in the horn of
Africa in the 1970s, the first woman in
Somalia/Somaliland to obtain a driver’s license, and now
the fo under of a maternity hospital.
“I still have the energy and determination to serve
humanity even at 72 years of age” smilingly shares with
members of the Somaliland community in South Africa.
She pulled out pamphlets and statistical reports on her
Hospital. There were lots of ph otographs of young
and gorgeous young ladies interning at the hospital and
a woman undergoing a caesarian. She shared these
documents with the attendees of the gradu ation
ceremony.
Covering the daily/monthly running costs of the hospital
is among the many challenges Dr. Edna faces. “the
running costs of the hospital ranging from
water/electricity, med ical equipments, medications,
expanding the hospital, goes beyond our capability but
wi th God’s grace, we carry on despite all these
challenges” says Edna.
Dr. Edna’s award means much than that which meets the
eye. It is redemption of nation awaking from a
nightmare.
Congratulations are in order.
Dr. Edna Adan can be reached at:
Edna Adan Maternity Hospital
Mobile: +252-2-4426922
+252-2-4416342
Fax: +252-2-515454
Email: ednahospital@yahoo.com
ednahospital@gmail.com
hospital@ednahospital.org
edna@ednahospital.org
www.ednahospital.org
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Saeed
Furaa
