This three-year project will improve and expand healthcare provision in Puntland State. The project will benefit children, pregnant and nursing women, the elderly and displaced people.

Islamic Relief will construct a new health centre in the Mudug region and rehabilitate existing health centres in the Nagaal, Sanag, Sool and Bari regions. The health centres will receive medical equipment, medicines and supplies, and staff will receive training. Support will also be given to Nutrition Feeding Centres.

The three-year period will allow local communities to build up their capacity, to enable them to take over the project.

Puntland state, home to over one million people, has seen very little development since Somalia gained independence around fifty years ago.

Before 1990 Somalia’s health institutions were all government-owned. Since the conflict began, healthcare has deteriorated across the country and it remains one of the most pressing problems in the Puntland.

Serious health problems such as tuberculosis, measles, acute respiratory infections and diarrhoea are common. The lack of healthcare forces most poor people to rely on traditional healers and birth attendants.

Around 60% of the population are nomadic, which further complicates access to adequate health care.

Project Objectives

• To improve access to healthcare in the Puntland State;

• To improve the quality of service from healthcare professionals;

• To build the capacity of the Ministry of Health, so that they can contribute to the development of the health sector;

Project Activities

• Construction of a health centre in the Ba’adweyn district of the Mudug region;

• Completed rehabilitation of the health centre in the Dangoronyo district of Nugaal region;

• Training health staff at the two centres;

• Providing medicine and medical equipment for both centres;

• Providing health screenings for pregnant women at the health centres;

• Distributing food to mothers of malnourished children;

• Distributing food to pregnant women and nursing mothers;

• Rehabilitation of health centres in the Sanag, Sool and Bari regions;

• Involving the Ministry of Health so that they can benefit from up-to-date medical information and refresher training, encouraging participation in future health provision in Somalia.

"Islamic Relief is striving for a fairer world. Our mission is to help the poor and needy to live sustainable, self-reliant lives within safe and caring communities. Our work is guided and shaped by the core values of accountability, humanitarianism, neutrality and impartiality, inclusiveness, integrity and co-operation, all of which are also integral to the Islamic faith."
Dr Hany El Banna - Founder of Islamic Relief

Islamic Relief was established in 1984 and our unique approach is the result of these many years of hands-on experience.

1. Where possible we adopt a community partnership-based approach; encouraging community involvement, understanding and ownership of projects.
2. We run the majority of our field projects ourselves, giving us direct insight into the problems faced and how best to solve them.
3. We aim to empower those we help in order to achieve sustainable results.
4. Though our emergency response teams are quick to respond to emergencies around the world, we continue to support communities long after the initial media interest has died down.
5. We recruit staff locally to benefit from their local knowledge. This ensures that we are culturally sensitive and allows us to reach communities and areas other organisations cannot.
6. Where necessary we coordinate our work with other reputable aid agencies, local organisations and governments.

Millennium Development Goals

Islamic Relief is committed to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which have been agreed by the world’s leading development institutions in an effort to meet the needs of the world’s poorest by the year 2015. 

The goals:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

For more information about the MDGs, please visit: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/