Edna Adan Hospital: The Hargeisa Hospital That Changed Somaliland
Edna Adan Hospital in Hargeisa began as one nurse-midwife’s plan and grew into a teaching hospital and a university. Here is its story, the woman behind it, and how visitors and health workers can support it.
PLACES · HARGEISA
Some places in Hargeisa are landmarks because of their stones. This one is a landmark because of its people. The Edna Adan Hospital is a working maternity hospital, a training school and a symbol of what one determined founder can build. Its story says a lot about Somaliland’s recovery since the 1990s.
Who is Edna Adan Ismail?
Edna Adan Ismail was born on 8 September 1937 in Hargeisa, then part of British Somaliland. Her father was a prominent Somali medical doctor. She went on to train as a nurse and midwife in the UK, at the Borough Polytechnic, now London South Bank University. According to the Associated Press, she became the first medically trained nurse-midwife in her homeland.
Her career then took her far beyond nursing. She worked for the World Health Organization as regional technical officer for maternal and child health from 1987 to 1991. From 1991 to 1997 she was the WHO’s representative to Djibouti, the AP reports.
She also served in government. She was Somaliland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2006, the first woman in the post.
How the Edna Adan Hospital was built
The idea is older than the building. Wikipedia notes that she first began building a hospital in Hargeisa in 1980, but had to leave in 1981 as war spread. She came back after the conflict to try again.
The second attempt worked. Wikipedia dates the start of construction to 1 January 1998, while a 2013 Thomson Reuters Foundation profile says she began building in 1997, when she returned to Hargeisa.
The site itself has a striking history. The AP reports that the hospital stands on land that had been a garbage dump. PBS NewsHour, by contrast, described it as land once used as a burial ground.
Funding came largely from the founder herself. The Templeton Prize says she sold her own assets to fund the hospital, and Wikipedia adds that she gave up her UN pension. In 2013 the Thomson Reuters Foundation described her begging local traders in town for cement when money ran short.
The hospital finally became functional on 9 March 2002.
Why it mattered so much
The need was enormous. According to Wikipedia, after the civil war the entire health infrastructure of Somaliland was effectively destroyed. In March 2026, Cardiff University wrote that in 1991 the country had only 18 nurses and midwives and 13 doctors.
The Edna Adan Hospital has grown steadily since then. PBS reported in 2017 that it opened with 45 beds and has since doubled in size, adding an outpatient clinic and two operating theatres.
Its numbers tell the story:
- Babies delivered: more than 30,000 by 2023, according to the Templeton Prize.
- Maternal care: in 2017, Edna Adan told PBS the hospital’s maternal mortality was about a quarter of the national rate.
- Other services: Wikipedia lists diagnostic laboratories, an emergency blood bank and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.
- Visiting specialists: PBS reported that visiting surgeons perform free specialised procedures, including for cleft palate.
The hospital also works to end female genital cutting. Wikipedia notes that mothers of newborn girls receive counselling on its dangers.
Training midwives for the whole country
From the start, the Edna Adan Hospital was also a school. The Templeton Prize says it began training nurses before it opened. Wikipedia adds that she recruited more than 30 trainee nurses in 2000.
Midwives were the priority. In 2013, she had trained 300 midwives, mostly at her own expense, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. Wikipedia says the hospital works with the Ministry of Health, UNICEF and WHO to train nurses and midwives for all of Somaliland.
Many graduates now serve far from Hargeisa. PBS met midwives and nurses from her team who serve rural areas.
Edna Adan University
In time, the training programme became a university. According to the AP, it became Edna Adan University in 2010.
The Templeton Prize says the university has trained more than 4,000 students. Their fields include medicine, nursing, midwifery, dentistry, pharmacy and public health, among others. Graduates serve in Somaliland, Somalia, Ethiopia and refugee camps. The AP adds that about 80% of staff and 70% of students are women.
The university keeps growing. Its website reports the launch of new Masters in Midwifery and Masters in Nursing programmes in March 2024. For the wider picture, see our guide to education in Somaliland.
Honours and recognition
In May 2023, Edna Adan Ismail won the Templeton Prize, worth nearly $1.4 million. The AP called her the first African woman to win the prize.
Other honours followed a long career. Wikipedia lists an honorary fellowship of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 2018, among others. In 2019 she published a memoir, A Woman of Firsts. In 2026, Cardiff University welcomed her as an Honorary Lecturer at its School of Healthcare Sciences.
Visiting or supporting the Edna Adan Hospital
The Edna Adan Hospital is a working hospital, not a tourist sight. If you would like to see it, contact the hospital in advance rather than arriving unannounced. Please respect patients’ privacy, and never photograph patients or staff without clear permission.
There are official ways to help:
- Donations: the hospital is supported by the Edna Adan Foundation, registered in the UK in 2016, and by Friends of Edna’s Maternity Hospital, according to Wikipedia.
- Volunteering: a 2019 notice on the American College of Nurse-Midwives website said volunteers should be trained in or studying a health profession. It added that some volunteers stay for three months or more, that stays of under two weeks are not accepted, and that volunteers pay their own travel, visa, food and accommodation.
Check the hospital’s own website for current rules before you plan anything. Hargeisa is in a region where the UK government advises against all but essential travel, so check the latest official advice and our guide is Somaliland safe? first.
Why the Edna Adan Hospital is worth knowing about
The Edna Adan Hospital shows Somaliland’s recovery in human terms. It began with personal savings and borrowed cement. Today it has delivered tens of thousands of babies and trained thousands of health workers. If you are spending time in the capital, our Hargeisa travel guide and things to do in Hargeisa will help you plan the rest of your stay.
Sources (9)
- Edna Adan Ismail, Wikipedia (accessed 7 November 2026).
- Edna Adan Maternity Hospital, Wikipedia (accessed 7 November 2026).
- Prominent foe of female genital mutilation wins prestigious Templeton Prize, Associated Press via VOA, 16 May 2023.
- A Beacon of Hope for Women’s Health & Dignity: Dr. Edna Adan Ismail, Winner of the 2023 Templeton Prize, Templeton Prize, 16 May 2023.
- How one woman brought life-saving maternity care to Somaliland, Fred de Sam Lazaro, PBS NewsHour, 9 August 2017.
- Edna Adan Ismail puts compassion at the heart of an African hospital, Katy Migiro, Thomson Reuters Foundation via The Christian Science Monitor, 5 December 2013.
- Cardiff University welcomes renowned global health leader and Honorary Lecturer Dr Edna Adan Ismail, Cardiff University, 13 March 2026.
- Edna Adan University, official website (accessed 7 November 2026).
- Volunteer at Edna Adan Hospital – Somaliland, American College of Nurse-Midwives, last modified 21 March 2019 (accessed 7 November 2026).
Last checked 7 November 2026. Found an error or something out of date? Tell us.
