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Somalia: looking back on 20 years of lifesaving care at Keysaney Hospital
07-06-2012 Photo gallery
Keysaney Hospital in north-eastern Mogadishu has played an essential role in providing emergency medical care for people affected by war for over 20 years. Two decades of armed conflict have taken a serious toll on the people and the country, with infighting between different political factions resulting in the destruction of essential infrastructure, including hospitals, all over the country. Despite all of this, Keysaney Hospital has managed to treat over 216,000 people, including 30,000 with weapon-related injuries. This photo narrative looks back on the hospital's successes and challenges, and celebrates this year's inauguration of a new operating facility.
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Keysaney Hospital is located in north-eastern Mogadishu, on the outskirts of the city, at the site of what was formerly a prison.
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Despite constant modifications and rehabilitation through the years, the existing OT could no longer cope with the increasing number of operations, and its equipment was outdated. The new building shelters one aseptic (germ-free) and one septic OT with separate entries and lobbies, a pharmacy, a recovery room, a staff room, two changing rooms and a cleaning room.
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"Before I felt as if I was working in an actual prison and not a hospital. The hospital is now completely refurbished," said the hospital's director, Yusuf Mohamed Hassan.
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The quality of life for both patients and medical staff has improved with the recent inauguration of this modern operating theatre.
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The new facility includes a modern recovery room for post-operative patient care.
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Keysaney Hospital in northern Mogadishu began war surgery and emergency medical care for Somali civilians and combatants alike just over 20 years ago. The hospital is run by the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) and supported by the ICRC. A newly constructed operating theatre was recently inaugurated to mark the hospital's 20th anniversary.
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"It is an important day for the ICRC and the SRCS, and an emotional one for me – I was there in 1992 when we first opened Keysaney hospital and today we are inaugurating the new operating theatre," said Randi Jensen, an ICRC nurse in Somalia, at the inauguration on 2 February 2012, 20 years after Keysaney Hospital opened its doors. "I'm very proud of the work accomplished together with our colleagues from the SRCS over the years."
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Keysaney Hospital was opened on 2 February 1992 in the premises of a former prison on the coast in northern Mogadishu. It has a capacity of 90 beds today and its surgeons and medical personnel perform up to 2,500 operations a year.
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The hospital was established in 1992 for the treatment of war-wounded in the northern part of Mogadishu, which had no surgical facilities at the time. The ICRC transformed the building – originally intended as a detention facility – into a hospital, and staffed it with ICRC surgical teams.
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Since 1994 it has been run by Somali staff employed by the SRCS and trained by the ICRC. The ICRC gives comprehensive support to the hospital including paying the salaries of SRCS staff and providing training and medical supplies. There is currently an average of 210 surgical patients entering the hospital each month, of which 120 are for treatment of wounds inflicted by weapons.
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Since opening, the hospital has treated up to 30,000 weapon-wounded patients, out of 216,000 people in total. A consultation costs one US dollar. Hospitalization costs two dollars in a ward, four dollars for one of the private ward's 13 beds. Thirty per cent of patients, however, are too poor to pay even those fees and are treated free of charge.
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Over the last 20 years, Keysaney Hospital has felt the full weight of armed conflict, even being hit by artillery fire on many occasions, including quite recently. Violence against health-care workers, facilities and patients poses serious challenges to humanitarian action today. The vital services provided by medical facilities such as Keysaney Hospital make it imperative that international humanitarian laws (IHL) that protect medical facilities, staff and patients are respected at all times.
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Under international humanitarian law, medical facilities must be respected and protected at all times. The parties must spare medical staff and hospitals, clinics and similar medical facilities from the effects of hostilities. Whether launching an attack, defending an area or positioning military personnel and material, all those involved in the hostilities must take every feasible precaution to minimize the potential harm to civilians and to civilian facilities such as hospitals.
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A doctor teaches medical staff, nurses, and medical university students how to categorize wounded according to the level of emergency care they need. Keysaney Hospital is run by the Somali Red Crescent and all staff, training and equipment are financed by the ICRC.
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“What makes us able to operate in such a difficult environment is our neutrality," says Mr Yusuf Mohamed Hassan, the hospital's director since 2004. "Keysaney admits all patients, regardless of which clan they are from, their religion or their political beliefs. The services of Keysaney Hospital are essential for the population of Mogadishu: over the past 20 years more than 216,000 people, including 30,000 with wounds caused by weapons, have been treated here.”
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