OneWorld.net (U.S.)

OneWorld.net note: Somali doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals living in Finland will soon return to Northern Somalia to share their skills with local health care staff as part of a pilot project designed to build up the African country's health system.Map of Somalia: The northern part of Somalia encompasses the self-declared Republic of Somaliland in the northwest, and the northeast region of Puntland. © Public Domain (Central Intelligence Agency)

• In 1990, before Somalia erupted into a civil war, Finland housed 44 Somali immigrants. Today, Finland is home to over 9,000 residents of Somali descent. Somalia has not had a stable government since 1991, when the military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown and fled the country.
• In 1991, the northern part of Somalia declared independence, naming itself the Republic of Somaliland. Despite a border dispute with the neighboring region of Puntland, the Republic of Somaliland is considered more stable than the rest of the country. Nonetheless, the self-declared state has yet to receive international recognition as an independent entity.
• A 1999 World Health Organization study conducted in Somaliland and Puntland reported that only one out of every ten hospitals in the area was functioning adequately. Education is also lacking in Somalia, where almost two generations of children have grown up without schooling due to ongoing violence.

Somali Diaspora Helps Rehabilitate Northern Somalia's Health Sector

From: International Organization for Migration

Posted on Friday, 18-07-2008

Finland - Medical doctors, nurses, health administrators, and other health-related professionals of the Somali diaspora living in Finland will now be able to share the knowledge and skills acquired while working within the Finnish health system with their fellow compatriots in Northern Somalia.

IOM Helsinki, with support from the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, this week launched the first Migration and Development for Africa (MIDA) pilot project in Somalia.

The project, which proposes the temporary return of up to 22 qualified and highly qualified Somali nationals resident in Finland, seeks to strengthen the capacities of local health professionals in Northern Somalia through the transfer of skills and knowledge.

"This new project is underlining both Finland's long-lasting relationship with Somalia through the involvement of the Somali diaspora in rehabilitating the health sector back home as well as IOM's commitment to create linkages between migration and development," explained Thomas Weiss, IOM's Regional Representative for the Nordic and Baltic States.

Initially, the IOM MIDA Health Northern Somalia pilot project will work with local authorities, medical institutions, NGOs and institutes of higher learning to assess the main human resource gaps in Northern Somalia's health sector.

Based on the findings of the initial assessment, the project will match identified human resource needs with skills and competences available within the Finnish-based Somali diaspora.

In order to guarantee the sustainability of the project, special emphasis will be placed on capacity building for local health professionals and students who will ultimately remain in Northern Somalia providing health services to the population.

Since the late 1980s Finland is among the most important providers of aid to Somalia. Today, with a population of over 9,000 persons of Somali descent, the Somali diaspora is the largest non-European ethnic minority in Finland. Through a wide network of civil and community-based organizations, and supported by the Finnish Government and Finnish NGOs, Somalis residing in Finland have proactively pursued means to provide assistance in alleviating their country of origin's current humanitarian crisis.

For more information from the International Organization for Migration, click here.