Somalilandsun: Rates of infant mortality in Somaliland set for drastic reduction through Taiwanese health expertise and funds infusion.
According to the Somaliland envoy in Taiwan, Amb Mohamed Hagi, a group of Somaliland health officers with speciality in maternal and child care are in the capital Taipei on a skills exchange program.
This development is part of the memorundum of understanding between the two countries geared towards Improving Healthcare, Agriculture And ICT In Somaliland.
In the agreement signed on Tuesday December 1, 2020, Taiwan Technical Mission will offer support to Somaliland through the Ministry of Health Development to uplift the country’s healthcare capability through the bilateral cooperation between the two nations.
In the health component of the agreement named Maternal and Infant Health Care Improvement Project in Somaliland the following are the main objectives
A.Upgrading the functions of selected health care facilities.
B.Enriching health care personnel with knowledge in high-risk group care.
C.Improving the quality of women and children care at the community level.
Implementation Start Date：2021-01-01
Implementation End Date：2023-12-31
Source of Funding：Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC（Taiwan）/Ministry of Health Development, Somaliland/Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital
We are grateful to welcome our health professionals to Taiwan. On this programme, #Somaliland and #Taiwan are working together to improve the quality of maternal and child health care. And to do so, Taiwan is assisting to build the capacity of our medical institutions. pic.twitter.com/rkMrZkVH2d
— Somaliland in Taiwan (@SomalilandinTW) April 28, 2022
Specific Project Objectives：
1.Upgrade the functions of health care facilities
(1)Provide essential medical equipment based on the EPHS recommendations on maternal and child health care and the comprehensive EmONC standards to upgrade the maternal and infant health care functions in 2 hospitals in the Maroodi Jeex region.
(2)Provide essential medical equipment based on the EPHS recommendations on maternal and child health care and the basic EmONC standards to upgrade the maternal and infant health care functions in 8 selected health centers.
(3)Strengthen or integrate SOPs for maternal and infant high-risk case management in the health facilities; submit a minimum of three SOPs.
(4)Provide two ambulances to strengthen the referral capacity of health facilities to the two hospitals in the Maroodi Jeex region.
2.Enrich health care personnel with knowledge in high-risk group care
(1)Submit a recommendation report on maternal and infant health care guidelines.
(2)Train a minimum of eight seed instructors in high-risk group management of obstetrics and pediatrics Conduct a minimum of eight local training courses on high-risk group management of obstetrics and pediatrics, and train a minimum of 200 physicians, nurses, and midwives.
(3)Have Taiwanese consultants conduct onsite assessments to monitor the above activities, with six consultations for a minimum of 12 weeks.
3.Improve the quality of women and infant care at the community level
(1)Strengthen the capacity of community health workers on maternal and infant health care and health promotion.
(2)Improving the accessibility of antenatal and postnatal care at the community level.
(3)Promote knowledge of maternal and infant health care to the public.
Implementation Arrangement：Members of the Project will provide technical assistance for capacity building.
Taiwan and Somaliland which are not only isolated politically and diplomatically internationally but also claimed by China and Somalia respectively entered into relations in July 2020 . The two sides opened their representative offices in respective capitals in August and September in -2020, with Taiwan launching first
