Thursday, December 20, 2012
The town of Burco (also written as 'Burao'), in Somaliland, has the largest public hospital in the area and serves at least 350,000 people.
Last year, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical teams joined Ministry of Health staff at this eight-ward hospital to start providing high-quality, free medical services. Now, Somali staff work alongside MSF staff from as far away as China and Denmark so that patients with medical emergencies receive quality health care.
Maternal mortality rates in Somaliland are among the worst in the world, and the hospital's maternity ward is by far the busiest department in the hospital. A team of experienced midwives and doctors run this busy unit, which has seen a substantial increase in the number of admissions over the last year.