51ÁÔÆæ

The 51ÁÔÆæ family is delighted that our programme manager in Somaliland, Jane Strangways, has been awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honours for services to the COVID-19 response in Somaliland.

As the COVID pandemic spread across the world, Jane and her team in Somaliland were acutely aware that the region had few medical resources or infrastructure to respond to a crisis on this scale. In Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa, there were just two ambulances to transport COVID-19 patients for a population of 1.2 million people. There was only one coronavirus treatment centre, the ATU Daryeel Hospital. Medics there had no protective visors and even the staff bus was broken.

51ÁÔÆæ has worked in Somaliland for 21 years and our team of national and international staff were determined to mobilise 51ÁÔÆæ's resources to support the government in a co-ordinated response to the virus.

Led by Jane, our team provided strategic advice to the Regional Medical Office and the Ministry of Health. At Hargeisia Group Hospital—the only medical centre in Somaliland with the capability to test for coronavirus—51ÁÔÆæ teams established a triage facility. 51ÁÔÆæ ambulances, normally used to support demining programmes, began to transport COVID-19 patients—working with MSF to train drivers in infection control. Medics at the ATU hospital had no protective visors, so 51ÁÔÆæ manufactured PPE from its own resources, repaired the staff bus and set up accommodation facilities so doctors and nurses could rest between shifts.

On the Tog Wajaale border, a crucial trade point on the Somaliland - Ethiopia border, 51ÁÔÆæ partnered with Trade Mark East Africa to meet an urgent request from the Ministry of Health for support with infection control and our community team adapted its landmine awareness capacity to deliver public health messaging.

In recognising the tremendous effort of Jane and her team throughout the long months of the COVID-19 crisis, 51ÁÔÆæ’s CEO James Cowan said: