Somalilandsun: Somaliland is a low-income country in sub-Saharan Africa with significant health and economic challenges.
After emerging from the civil war in 1991, the government of Somaliland focused on rebuilding its hospitals, clinics and health posts, and devoted 3% of the national budget to rebuild its health sector.
Somaliland has a gross domestic product (GDP) of $348 per capita (making it the fourth poorest country in the world), has a population of approximately 4 million people and some of the poorest health outcomes in the African region.
In order to characterise the Somaliland surgical health system according to the LCoGS surgical
indicators the Global Initiative for Children’s Surgery commissioned a study to Interpret the Lancet surgical indicators in Somaliland: a cross-sectional study
This cross-sectional study took place in the Horn of Africa country which achieved relative stability and has an autonomous government since separation from Somalia in 1991. The population estimate from the 2014 Somali census is 3.5 million people.
Somaliland is made up of six regions—Awdal, Maroodi-Jeex (containing the capital city of Hargeisa), Sahil, Sanaag, Sool and Togdheer—with 40% of the population living in Hargeisa.
The public health system is comprised of primary health units, health centres, referral health centres, regional hospitals and one national referral hospital. Specialty hospitals include seven tuberculosis hospitals, one female fistula hospital, one children’s hospital and one mental health hospital.
An estimated health services are provided through the private sector, consisting of non-government organisations, private health practitioners and hospitals, and traditional practitioners.
This study concludes that “As Somaliland continues to rebuild its healthcare infrastructure, incorporating surgical care as an essential component of its national healthcare plan is critical. It was found that large limitations in the overall surgical system using the LCoGS indicators. Implementation of efforts to scale up surgery using these target goals can help Somaliland progress in improving safe, affordable, and timely surgical, obstetric and anaesthesia care, and achieve UHC for its population.
This report is co-authored by Shukri Dahir,Cesia F Cotache-Condor, Tessa Concepcion, Mubarak Mohamed,Dan Poenaru,Edna Adan Ismail, Andy J M Leather,Henry E Rice and Emily R Smith for the Global Initiative for Children’s Surgery
Read full report Interpreting the Lancet surgical indicators in Somaliland: a cross-sectional study HERE
