doTERRA on Tuesday announced the grand opening of Sanaag Specialty Hospital, located in Erigavo, the heart of Somaliland’s Frankincense resin harvesting region.
The hospital provides quality, accessible healthcare in a region with over 600,000 people. Working with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Planning, Response-Med, and various NGOs over the last four years, doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation and local partners, Jibriil Foundation and Asli-Maydi, funded the construction of the hospital to bring primary and secondary healthcare services to the remote region.
The Sanaag Specialty Hospital provides services, including accident and emergency care, maternity, and neonatal care, operating theater (C-sections and surgical procedures), pediatric care, in-patient and out-patient care, diagnostic services (laboratory and radiology), and community outreach. Part of the hospital’s community outreach will include training of maternal-child health and health outpost personnel, regular health day clinics offering maternal and child health checks, as well as an ambulatory response for emergency situations.
“Prior to the opening of the Sanaag Specialty Hospital, people had to travel over 12 hours to reach medical help, if they could afford the journey at all,” said Dr. Russell Osguthorpe, doTERRA Chief Medical Officer. “Now, Sanaag provides a full-service hospital, pediatric care, pharmacy services, and community outreach services, among other medical care. This first-class facility allows us to face the region’s high infant and child mortality rate. We have an amazing and dedicated medical team that is already seeing success and making an impact in the lives of Somalilanders.”
“When doTERRA looks for sourcing partnerships, we deliberately choose locations where we can obtain the highest quality essential oils, while also focusing on improving the individual, social, economic, and environmental well-being of the people in surrounding communities,” said David Stirling, doTERRA founding executive, and CEO. “The hospital has been a vision of ours for more than four years, and its completion represents the passion, determination, grit, and hard work of so many people and organizations. We can’t thank everyone enough for their contributions. Sanaag Speciality Hospital will be a powerful force for good in the lives of individuals and families living and working in the region for generations.”
The hospital currently employs over 100 staff, including a chief medical officer, senior medical officer, and doctors specializing in general and trauma surgery, obstetrics, gynecology, internal medicine, and child and infant care. The support staff includes trained laboratory technicians, anesthetists, radiologists, pharmacists, and nurses. Hospital and lab equipment meets the highest international standards and includes an ambulance, three ultrasound machines, three incubators, and portable x-ray machines, among other technology.
doTERRA sources different species of Frankincense resins from Somaliland, Oman, and Ethiopia. In Somaliland, doTERRA’s Frankincense resins come from the Sanaag Region. Approximately one-third of the national population lives in this region, and Frankincense harvesting is a primary source of employment. While middlemen have often historically taken advantage of harvesters and collectors in the Frankincense industry, doTERRA has worked closely through its Co-Impact Sourcing program over several years to form a more traceable network of harvesters, collectors, and sorters working with over a dozen tribal sub-clans within Somaliland—providing livelihood opportunities to over 7,000 people. This approach enables a more stable and reliable income, fairness, employment, and security for those within these supply chains.
About dōTERRA
dōTERRA® International is an integrative health and wellness company and the world leader in the Global Aromatherapy and Essential Oils market. dōTERRA sources, tests, manufactures, and distributes CPTG Certified Pure Tested Grade® essential oils and essential oil products to over nine million dōTERRA Wellness Advocates and customers. Through industry-leading responsible sourcing practices, dōTERRA maintains the highest levels of quality, purity, and sustainability in partnership with local growers around the world through Cō-Impact Sourcing®.
The dōTERRA Healing Hands Foundation®, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, offers resources and tools to global sourcing communities and charitable organizations for self-reliance, healthcare, education, sanitation, and the fight against human trafficking. Through the life-enhancing benefits of essential oils, dōTERRA is changing the world one drop, one person, one community at a time. To learn more, visit www.doTERRA.com.
