# Edna Adan Maternity Hospital (Edna Adan University Hospital), Hargeisa

> The Edna Adan hospital in Hargeisa: how it was built from 1997, opened in 2002, its midwife training, births, maternal deaths and the university.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/institutions/edna-adan-hospital/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## In short

The Edna Adan Maternity Hospital, now called Edna Adan University Hospital, is a referral hospital for mothers and babies in Hargeisa, [Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/) ([Direct Relief, February 2017](https://www.directrelief.org/2017/02/what-a-difference-edna-adan/)). It was founded by the midwife Edna Adan Ismail (same source); see [Edna Adan Ismail](/en/people/edna-adan-ismail/).

## How it was built

Building began in 1997 on land that had been a rubbish dump ([Christian Science Monitor, December 2013](https://csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2013/1205/Edna-Adan-Ismail-puts-compassion-at-the-heart-of-an-African-hospital)). Her former husband, then president of Somaliland, gave the land (same source). She sold her savings and valuables to pay for the work, and when money ran out she raised funds abroad and asked local traders for cement (same source).

The hospital opened in 2002 ([UN SDG Partnerships](https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/edna-adan-university-hospital-committed-further-improving-and-accelerating-our)). Wikipedia gives the opening date as 9 March 2002 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edna_Adan_Maternity_Hospital)).

## Births and patients

By December 2013, Edna Adan and her team had delivered more than 14,000 babies and treated more than 140,000 patients ([Christian Science Monitor](https://csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2013/1205/Edna-Adan-Ismail-puts-compassion-at-the-heart-of-an-African-hospital)). Patients came from as far as Mogadishu, about 800 km away, and from Ethiopia (same source).

Visiting surgeons hold free "surgical camps" for cleft lip, club foot, hydrocephalus and fistula (same source).

## Mothers' deaths

The hospital reports a maternal mortality rate of 390 per 100,000 among women it admits ([UN SDG Partnerships](https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/edna-adan-university-hospital-committed-further-improving-and-accelerating-our)). That is about a quarter of the national estimate it cites, 1,600 per 100,000 (same source). It reports an early 75% fall in maternal deaths among its patients and has a target of 150 per 100,000 (same source).

## Training midwives and nurses

Training midwives is the hospital's main mission. Reported numbers rise over time:

- 2013: 300 midwives trained, sent to remote areas ([Christian Science Monitor](https://csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2013/1205/Edna-Adan-Ismail-puts-compassion-at-the-heart-of-an-African-hospital)).
- 2017: 183 midwives, in Direct Relief's count ([Direct Relief](https://www.directrelief.org/2017/02/what-a-difference-edna-adan/)).
- Goal: 1,000 public health midwives over six years ([UN SDG Partnerships](https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/edna-adan-university-hospital-committed-further-improving-and-accelerating-our)).

The sources give different counts. Direct Relief has also shipped 81 midwife kits, which it links to more than 4,000 births in Somaliland ([Direct Relief](https://www.directrelief.org/2017/02/what-a-difference-edna-adan/)).

## Read more

- [Health in Somalia: the key numbers](/en/society/health-in-somalia/)
- [Hospitals in Somalia by city](/en/society/hospitals-by-city/)

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