Below is an article published by Somaliland Press

Five doctors from Australia arrived in Hargeisa on Wednesday [6 April 2011] as the representatives of both Australian Doctors for Africa (ADFA) and the University of Western Australia (UWA).

The doctors led by Dr Graham Forward, orthopaedic surgeon and chairman of the Murdoch Orthopaedic Clinic, were warmly received at Egal International Airport by Dr Diriye Ismael and other officials from the Ministry of Health and medical institutions in the country.

Over the next fortnight the Australian doctors will offer a series of free lectures plus intensive teachings in general medicine and surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and psychiatry. They will visit private and government hospitals and universities as an act of good will  from Australia towards the people of Somaliland.

In an effort to improve the local students’ clinical skills, the visiting doctors will also perform a number of surgical operations on patients in hospitals in Somaliland with students present. The doctors say the local students are “enthusiastic and receptive” but their clinical skills would benefit from exposure to some of the latest techniques.

This is not the first time doctors from ADFA and UWA have visited Somaliland, this being their third visit since March 2007. As well as generously offering their time and expertise, they also donate medical equipment, text books and other supplies including wheelchairs, medical supplies and washing machines.

Medical services in Somaliland is short of certain key resources and skills and initiatives such as this can have a significant impact on the local health sector. ADFA dispatches a medical team to Somaliland, Ethiopia, Somalia and Madagascar annually where they offer their time and expertise in a bid to improve local health services and skills.