By Eddy Omari
The motto ‘education is the key to success’ rings true when you read the impressive resume of the well travelled Dr. Abdiqani Sheikh Omar Hassan. Starting out as an Assistant Coordinator in the National Refugee Commission back in 2007, Dr. Abdiqani went on to work for the Federal Government of Somalia as Director General in both the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development and the Ministry of Health and Human Service. Currently, he is the Senior WASH Strategic Policy Advisor in the ministry of Energy and Water.
Background & Education
Dr. Abdiqani has travelled the world in pursuit of knowledge. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery from Benadir University and a Master’s degree in Public Health from Kampala University. Masters in international Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid from KALU Institute.
He went on to join USIU-Africa where he graduated with a Master of Business Administration. He is a diploma holder in Human Resource Management from Dima College, Kenya and a qualifying post-graduate diploma of Malaria Program Planning and Management from Tehran University.
He also holds multiple certificates in Political Science and Public Administration, Strategic Management & Leadership, and Policy Planning and Implementation. He has spent several years in academia indulged in the perusal of many educational resources, which has proved to broaden his horizon and has made for an ongoing learning process.
Career
Dr. Abdiqani has 10 years plus experience in the medical and public health field. From baby steps working as an Assistant Coordinator in the National Refugee Commission to taking up the role of Executive Director at the Somali Young Doctors Association, a Research Fellow at the Somali Medical Research Institute, a National Malaria Director at the Ministry of Health, and offering consultancy services as a technical advisor and survey coordinator for the Malaria Program in Somalia.
His appointment in 2014 as a Director General in the Ministry of Health and Human Service took 7 years of experience in multiple institutes to hone his skills.
He very tactfully dealt with the devising and implementing of policies of the Ministry of Health, and the routine operations of the public health system. Under his 2-year leadership tenure, the Ministry of Health and Human Service grew magnanimously.
Some of the successful operations under his belt include the Somali Health Policy, National Strategic Plan for HIV/ AIDS, National Reproductive Health Strategy, Somali Drug Policy, Somali Nutrition Strategy, Development of Joint Health and Nutrition Program, and Somali EPI Policy. Not only this, he successfully improved the Donor relationship and developed the financial management capacity for the Ministry.
Later in 2016, Dr. Abdiqani’s focus shifted – but only partially – to working for women and human rights. As a Director General in the Ministry of Women and Human Rights, he served to bring some revolutionary changes in the Ministry. Not only did he supervised the team to develop the Human Resource Manual, Financial Management Manual, Human Resource Mapping, Gender Mainstreaming, and Human Right Commission Road Map but also introduced the culture of local and international training to enhance the staff capacity-building process. He also came up with and presented the Sexual Offense Bill to the cabinet ministers.
