Türkiye backs Somali health care at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Hospital

Tuesday April 7, 2026

Patients receive medical care at the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Training and Research Hospital, Mogadishu, Somalia, Sept. 9, 2025. (AA Photo)

In Mogadishu, Türkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Training and Research Hospital has become far more than a place for treatment. Drawing patients from Somalia and beyond its borders, the facility now stands as a regional referral center, backed by modern equipment, specialist teams and training programs that are helping reshape health care in Somalia. Its growing role also reflects the deeper strategic cooperation between Türkiye and Somalia.

What began as a set of health-focused initiatives in Africa has gradually developed into a wider partnership model, with Türkiye’s investments expanding their reach and influence across regional health care delivery.

Deputy Hospital Director Mohamed Hussein Ashraf marked World Health Day, observed on April 7, by underscoring the hospital’s significance for Somalia’s health system.

Ashraf said the institution serves as both a teaching and research center, noting, “Health care services that were previously unavailable in Somalia have been introduced through the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Training and Research Hospital.”

He added that the hospital goes well beyond treatment, calling it a training ground for Somali medical personnel. “Thousands of Somali doctors have been trained here, and many of them are now serving within this very hospital,” he said.

The hospital treats about 1,600 patients a day, and Ashraf pointed to its 377-bed capacity as a major resource in Somali conditions. “This hospital serves not only the Somali population but also the wider region. In this regard, it is an invaluable asset for the entire region,” he said.

Looking ahead, Ashraf said the hospital is helping lay the groundwork for broader improvements in national health infrastructure. He said, “Within the next five years, we are working with the Somali government to identify and develop 6 to 7 major hospitals, using the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Training and Research Hospital as a foundational model.”

He also argued that other countries should consider similar approaches, saying cooperation models that look beyond narrow national interests — such as Türkiye’s work in Somalia — can make a meaningful contribution to regional development.

In one of the hospital’s notable surgical milestones, a team led by Urology Department head Khalid Ali Mohamed, together with Dr. Mohamed Mohamud Yusuf, carried out Somalia’s first partial nephrectomy.

The procedure, used to treat kidney tumors while preserving the organ, removes only the diseased section of the kidney instead of taking out the entire kidney, marking an important step forward for surgical care in Somalia.

Ali Gele Abdi, the patient who underwent the operation, said he had visited three hospitals in Somalia before coming to Mogadishu and was told each time that his kidney would have to be removed completely. After treatment at the hospital, he said, “I am very happy. I feel both of my kidneys functioning the same, and I no longer have the problem I used to experience.”

Abdi thanked the hospital administration and medical staff for the successful procedure.

Ophthalmology specialist Dr. Yavuz Selim Dayıoğlu said the hospital’s eye care services have importance well beyond Mogadishu.

“This is not only a health care center serving Somalia but also neighboring countries. It is a training and research hospital where complex cases from across the region are referred and treated,” he said.

Dayıoğlu said the hospital regularly performs advanced eye surgeries, including cataract operations using the phaco method, strabismus procedures, tear duct surgeries and glaucoma treatments. He noted that glaucoma is a major cause of blindness in Somalia.

Since opening in Mogadishu in 2015, the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Training and Research Hospital has remained a central pillar of Somalia’s health care system.

As one of Türkiye’s largest overseas health care investments, the facility has a capacity of more than 200 beds and serves patients not only from Somalia but also from neighboring countries.

From emergency care and intensive care units to operating rooms and maternity wards, the hospital is equipped to provide a wide range of medical services.

Against the backdrop of years of civil conflict and infrastructure damage that strained Somalia’s health system, the institution has offered critical support while also distinguishing itself through education and training.

Every year, hundreds of Somali doctors, nurses and other health workers train at the hospital, building hands-on experience alongside Turkish specialists.