King's College London and Qatar Charity have today signed a Letter of Intent to work together to address global challenges, starting with a project to deliver health improvements in Somaliland.
The President & Principal of King's, Professor Shitij Kapur and His Excellency, Sheikh Hamad Nasser J. Al-Thani, Chairman of Qatar Charity signed the Letter of Intent to work together on projects strengthening health systems and improving the quality of healthcare in fragile settings where populations bear some of the highest rates of disease and mortality.
Laura Hucks, Director of King's Global Health Partnerships (KGHP), Matthew Gorman, Director of Fundraising and Supporter Development, and Mr Ahmed Saad Al Rumaihi, Director of External Affairs for Qatar Charity, signed a grant agreement of approximately £1.1million, for the inaugural joint project – Improving the Quality of Healthcare in Somaliland.
With over 20 years of experience working in Somaliland, KGHP will work in partnership with the Ministry of Health Development (MoHD) and the World Health Organisation to implement a healthcare improvement strategy that can be rolled out across the country. Somaliland is located in the Horn of Africa region, which faces many challenges including recurrent drought and instability. The project will work with all six regional hospitals in Somaliland, which serve over 45,000 patients each year, to directly improve the quality of care that patients receive. The project will also work with universities in Somaliland to deliver improvements to higher education doctors receive before entering the health system.
In partnership with the Tropical Health Education Trust (THET), the country's Medical Schools will be supported to transition to a new national undergraduate medical curriculum that meets international standards for training doctors. Support will also be provided to the government to develop a plan to establish postgraduate training (in areas such as paediatrics, obstetrics and surgery) which can bring specialist expertise for the country's most pressing health needs. Further, the project will see Somaliland's first ever People's Voice Survey capturing people's views of the care they receive.
As part of our King's College London Vision 2029, we are committed to giving back to society through meaningful service, and Qatar Charity is a key partner for this work. We are proud to be delivering on this commitment and improving health services and outcomes for people around the world through the impactful work of KGHP. – President & Principal of King's College London, Professor Shitij Kapur
With 33 offices across Africa, Asia and Europe and a global network of partners from UN agencies, governments and local actors, Qatar Charity supports and empowers communities in over 60 countries through interventions in child protection, education, cultural development, health, food and nutrition, water and sanitation, economic empowerment, social welfare, disaster preparedness and response, and housing.
With King's Global Health Partnerships' solid groundwork in strengthening health systems, we aim to support the building blocks of a strong, inclusive health system in countries where children, women and fragile populations bear some of the highest rates of disease and mortality. I am a strong believer in partnerships between universities and NGOs, and I am confident that together we will translate today's commitment of partnership into a reality in the lives of the people we serve as we work towards the 2030 development agenda.– His Excellency, Sheikh Hamad Nasser J. Al-Thani, Chairman of Qatar Charity
