USADF's investee The Institute of Practical Research and Training (IPRT) and its affiliated institution, ATU-Daryeel Hospital, have stepped up as frontline institutions in the fight against the coronavirus and its related disease, COVID-19, in the Somaliland region of Somalia.
For nearly 22 years, Somalia has faced severe obstacles to stability and development due to internal conflict and political infighting, piracy, and terrorism. The ongoing threats and challenges have led to social and economic indicators in Somalia being among the worst in the world. According to the World Health Organization, the health care system in Somalia remains weak, poorly resourced, and inequitably distributed, health expenditure remains very low, and there is a critical shortage of health workers.
Realizing Somaliland was ill-prepared and had no treatment centers to combat COVID-19, IPRT, in support of the Somaliland government, converted ATU- Daryeel Hospital into a dedicated COVID-19 treatment center.
IPRT, under the leadership of Director Dr. Ahmed Esa, had the requisite knowledge to combat the coronavirus. For his Ph.D. dissertation, Dr. Esa worked on a coronavirus animal model and had kept abreast of the latest research on the virus. As soon as the novel coronavirus began spreading in China, Dr. Esa started writing in the mass media about it to warn the public about the impending danger of the deadly virus’ spread to other countries.
"We are pleased the staff of ATU-Daryeel Hospital, including those trained under the USADF grant, has all accepted to suit up and continue to work, even with limited PPEs," said Dr. Esa. "Medicines sans Frontiers of France is now training staff to assist patients better. We have also expanded our single ICU unit to 4, increasing our patient capacity to 100."
USADF invested almost $250,000 in IPRT to increase employment and economic stability among the youth of Somalia. With USADF's investment, IPRT trained and placed 200 Somali youth in jobs across various sectors such as construction, health care, office management, IT and communications, beekeeping, and entrepreneurship.
IPRT continues to support its trained staff now working at ATU-Daryeel Hospital by guiding them through the difficult bureaucratic hurdles of converting to government employment. To provide financial support, IPRT has also started to fundraise for the workers at the hospital.
Learn more about IPRT and donate to support their work: https://www.iprt.info/about