Resources for Health Care in Somaliland: From the International to the Communal?

Health care in Somaliland is provided by public, private and traditional actors. The health care system in Somaliland faces huge challenges and the government cannot guarantee sufficient health care provision for its citizens. The government is also not in a position to regulate health care services provided by private and charitable actors. One cause of these challenges is the limited national budget available for public health facilities. While a considerable share of resources for health care is provided by international donors and NGOs, there have also been some initiatives in Somaliland to encourage community involvement through cost-sharing initiatives. Such initiatives have largely failed, but where they have succeeded they guarantee more sustainable sources of income and less dependency on external funding sources that come with external health care priorities.