Diaspora Doctors From Finland to Assist Somali Health System

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Through this project, IOM will support the development of the health sector in Somaliland and Puntland by strengthening the human resource base of the region’s public and private health-care institutions. Working with a comprehensive range of stakeholders, and the IOM office in Hargeisa, the project identifies essential gaps in the regions’ health sector that can be filled temporarily by health professionals from the Finland-based Somali Diaspora.

In the framework of the project, qualified professionals of Somali background will return on a temporary basis to Somaliland and Puntland to assist and share competences with local health authorities, civil society organizations (CSOs), hospitals and universities. During the last month of the project, a Migration for Development in Africa (MIDA) conference will be organized in Helsinki to share experiences, lessons learned, and formulate recommendations for future MIDA projects in Somalia.

Project Activities
Identification of essential gaps in the health sector in Somaliland and Puntland;
Identification of available skills among the Finland-based Somali health professionals and setting up of a skills database;
Temporary assignments for up to 22 health professionals;
MIDA Conference in Helsinki / Finland;
MIDA Health Northern Somalia – Project Experiences and Lessons Learned (Publication).

Project Duration
The project will be implemented over a period of twelve months.

Project Participants
Somali health care professionals currently residing and working in Finland, including medical doctors, dentists, nurses, mid-wives, and health technicians.

Project Partners
Association of Somali Health Care Professionals in the Nordic Countries
FinnChurchAid (Kirkon Ulkomaanapu – KUA)
Somali Diaspora in Finland
Local authorities, medical institutions, universities and NGOs in Somaliland and Puntland to be indentified during the first phase of the project.

Donor
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (Department for Africa and the Middle East)

For further information,  please contact IOM Helsinki:

Saed Guled IOM Helsinki    +358 9 684 11 523  E-mail: sguled@iom.int Tobias van Treeck IOM Helsinki +358 9 684 11 533 E-mail: tvantreeck@iom.int