More than 40 community health workers (including nurses, midwives, and public health practitioners) trained by IPRT at Abaarso Tech University’s teaching hospital of ATU-Daryeel Hospital fanned across the communities on the eastern outskirts of Hargeisa to provide free health care, medical supplies and supplementary children’s food.
Four teams of 10 nurses and community midwives and doctors visited the neighbourhoods of Kililka, Dablatagay, and Magaalo Ugaaso assisted more than 150 patients.
This area is home to largely poor families do not have access to health care. There are no hospitals and are served by only two small maternal and child health centres (MCH). The area has poor transportation links making it difficult and overly expensive for families to visit health care facilities such as the Hargeisa Group Hospital.
“We have been doing these outreach activities for many months, and every time we find patients who have not seen a health care provider for years, we treat hundreds of patients during these outreach activities”, Said Dr. Barkhad, of the attending physicians.
The community nurses have been trained to perform about 30 skills, sufficient for them to provide advice or triage the patients for hospital visits.
Abdirahman Madar , Placement Officer of IPRT said that the outreach program was successful.
IPRT is grateful to the US Africa Development Foundation (USADF) who funded the community nursing training program and Life International for providing the children’s supplementary food.