Attending to expectant women has been Farhiya Hassan’s passion and a life’s journey. For over two decades now, she has helped many women in Hargeisa city even in the difficult of circumstances when she had to make do with very limited resources and ever-mounting pressure. Across Hargeisa, Farhiya’s hand has been felt by many women thanks to her routine rounds in medical facilities and homes.
But Farhiya is a woman of many hats; she’s also an entrepreneur.
“After working as a midwife for several years, I decided to start my own business but still within the medical profession,” Farhiya says. Access to basic medical assistance and drugs was a big challenge in her neighbourhood. Easily manageable diseased which required primary healthcare attention became the source of complicated conditions since there was no health facility in her neighbourhood. People had to travel for a distance to even buy a painkiller, Farhiya says.
‘So, I decided to open a small pharmacy here but I did not have enough money to stock it and ensure people here got the medicine they wanted.” As part of her services, Farhiya provides diagnoses of common ailments and prescribes medicine to patients in her pharmacy which also doubles as a clinic.
Farhiya says she learnt about a loan facility from MicroDahab, an implementing partner of FIG-Somalia in Hargeisa. “They only asked me for my ID and business permit and the rest was simple.” She got her first loan of $1000 which enabled her to buy more drugs and refurbish her premises. Thanks to the loan, Farhiya has expanded her business and increased her income. She makes $700 monthly after offsetting her expenses, including rent, electricity and water. Besides ably supporting her family, Farhiya says her pharmacy has eased the challenges the local community faces.
When Farhiya set up the clinic, she never thought it would be the port of call for most expectant women even from neighbouring villages. Many women seeking pre and post-natal services visit her clinic before they head to the big hospitals. “I cannot handle all the cases because my facility is small but I advise and refer them to the main hospitals in the city,” Farhiya adds.
For Farhiya, the pharmacy is a fulfilment of a desire to continue offering medical help to local communities while generating income. “When you give the proper advice and professionally support your patients, you build a relationship with them which spans generations. I always urge young medical professionals to be selfless, empathetic and professional at all times.”
Farhiya aspires to expand her business and offer a wide range of primary healthcare services to her local community and beyond. Through the FIG-Somalia programme which aims to stimulate economic growth in Somalia, Farhiya is confident she can get the necessary support from MicroDahab given the relationship she has nurtured over time.
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