Taipei: Eight physicians from Somaliland are working to improve emergency care for patients in their home country after receiving training in Taiwan, with one of them telling CNA he wants to promote CPR to challenge the misconception back home that cardiac arrest is untreatable.
According to Focus Taiwan, Eid Abdi Ahmed, one of the eight physicians from the African country who received training in Taiwan last year, emphasized the lack of recognition for the importance of immediate CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) in Somaliland. He noted that many people, including healthcare workers, mistakenly believe that cardiac arrest is untreatable and that CPR is futile.
After two months of training at the Yunlin branch of National Taiwan University Hospital in mid-2024, Ahmed and his colleagues observed that healthcare workers and the public in Taiwan have a markedly different approach to CPR and Basic Life Support (BLS). Ahmed highlighted the systematic and team-based emergency care approach in Taiwan, contrasting it with the "significant gap" in standardized life-saving protocols in Somaliland.
Ahmed's training primarily focused on Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and he was struck by the prevalence of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces and the widespread public awareness of BLS in Taiwan. He believes that this approach can significantly increase bystander CPR rates, which are currently rare in Somaliland.
The training experience in Taiwan inspired Ahmed to consider introducing simulation-based training and standardized emergency response teams in Somaliland. He was particularly impressed by Taiwan's structured ACLS protocols, where each team member has a clearly defined role, and the advanced simulation exercises that prepare medical staff for high-stress scenarios.
Ahmed's colleagues in Somaliland showed great enthusiasm after he shared his experience, with many surprised by the effectiveness of Taiwan's structured emergency teams and high cardiac arrest survival rates. They are now motivated to adopt similar practices, including simulation-based training methods.
The "Public Health Emergency Response System Enhancement Project in Somaliland," launched by Taiwan's International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF), facilitated the training of the eight Somali physicians in Taiwan. Ahmed and three others focused on ACLS, while the remaining four concentrated on Prehospital Emergency Care (PEC).
Project manager Fan Chen-hua, based in Somaliland, noted significant changes since the project's inception on January 1, 2024. Local medical personnel, who previously did not perform resuscitation on patients with cardiac arrest, have gradually started to do so, thanks to the project's influence.
Fan highlighted the project's impact, stating, "We've planted many seeds through this project, and they are now gradually beginning to take root and grow." The project also includes on-site training for healthcare workers in Somaliland's Hargeisa and Gabiley districts, with plans to expand training to other regions if the initial areas are completed ahead of schedule.
In promoting bilateral cooperation, Fan encouraged the Somaliland government to develop its own initiatives, emphasizing the importance of not relying solely on external support.
Somaliland, located in the Horn of Africa, declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has operated as a de facto sovereign state since, though it is not officially recognized by any other country. Relations between Taiwan and Somaliland have strengthened since establishing representative offices in each other's capitals in 2020.