Ethiopia's EPHARM to Begin Exporting Pharmaceuticals to Somaliland & South Sudan

 Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Share Company (EPHARM) said it is prepared to begin exporting pharmaceuticals to Somaliland and South Sudan starting mid-2021. The company observes this will help address the pressing forex shortage, thereby helping the production of supplies to be used as preventive for COVID-19.

Dr. Mohammed Nuri, EPHARM's Board Chairperson, said the company aims to delve into the export market at this time so as to obtain the forex needed to purchase supplies to produce face masks and hand sanitizers. Dr. Mohammed notes the rise in coronavirus cases is "alarming" and EPHARM is committed to "add more energy in its efforts to curb the spread of the pandemic."

Consequently, EPHARM has established a mutual understanding with stakeholders in Somaliland and South Sudan to explore their markets, the Board Chairperson notes. The company has also allocated a "huge" investment for quality assurance and for equipping the company with skilled labor and modern technology to make it more competent in the export market.

Lack of forex has highly effected EPHARM's daily production of 10,000-liter hand sanitizers and 100,000 surgical masks, Dr. Mohammed notes. The added challenge of the global shortage of supplies such as alcohol, as happened globally, has been an added challenge, he said. 

Regardless, the Board Chairperson appreciates the attention the Ethiopian government has paid to the pharmaceutical industry, in order to attract private investment and by doing so enhance global competitiveness. In an effort to address the forex issue, the government has been working closely with the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical and Medical Supplies Manufacturing Industries Sectoral Association, of which EPHARM is a member.

EPHARM has donated 100,000 surgical masks to Ethiopia's Ministry of Health last week and has given hand sanitizer worth 17 million birr to the COVID-19 National Resource Mobilization Task Force in June.

 

Established in 1964, EPHARM is the first pharmaceutical manufacturer in Ethiopia. It has been privatized in September 2014, and is now owned by Medtech Ethiopia.

Source

Decline in health care visits in Somalia amid COVID-19

 Preventable deaths from diseases like malaria could claim more lives than coronavirus: International Committee of Red Cross

There has been a decline in primary health care visits and childhood vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic while infectious diseases rise in Somalia, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday.

In a statement, the ICRC said diseases such as respiratory infections, measles, acute watery diarrhea and malnutrition could be going untreated.

“The fight against COVID-19 has put an additional strain on health care resources and is stretching our ability to respond to multiple health threats at the same time,” said Ana Maria Guzman, the health coordinator for the ICRC in Somalia.

We are also seeing a decline in clinic visits during the pandemic, which is deeply worrying in that preventable deaths from diseases such as malaria or complications in child birth could claim more lives than COVID-19 itself, Maria added.

With a population of over 15 million, the Horn of Africa country has recorded 3,269 coronavirus cases, with 93 deaths and 2,443 recoveries, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

The country has also been devastated by flooding which has forced 650,000 people to leave their homes since the beginning of the year, according to the statement.

“The floods have forced people into displacement camps where they have little to no clean water, sanitation, or food,” said Habiba Ahmed, a Somali Red Crescent nurse who works in a clinic in Balcad.

“We are seeing AWD [acute watery diarrhea] cases rise, with most patients coming from villages on the outskirts of Balcad in Middle Shabelle who have had to walk long distances to reach our clinic,” Ahmed added.

Rising cases of acute watery diarrhea is fueled by lack of safe drinking water, poor sanitation, and population displacements due to flood.

The ICRC said more acute watery diarrhea cases are “reported in children under five years old, who are particularly vulnerable to disease, especially if their immune systems are compromised by malnutrition.”

Source

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What I Wish I Knew Before I Became a Surgeon

 I knew at a very young age, maybe at seven or eight, that I wanted to be doctor.  I knew I wanted to learn how the human body worked, why we took medications to treat ailments, and how these medications worked.  

As I grew up I became more fascinated with science and how the different organs in the body functioned.  I became interested in the field of surgery.  In high school, I visited the anatomy lab of the school where I would end up doing my surgery residency. I was fascinated at how engaging the faculty were and how their eyes lit up as they showed us the heart and lungs of a cadaver and how they worked together to sustain life.

I was hooked.  I was going to be a surgeon.

As my journey into surgery began, I would soon find out that my path would be very different than those of my classmates.  While most of my classmates had always been told they could be anything they wished, I was always reminded of my obligations.  A mere mention of my interest in medicine would elicit unsolicited advice about my priorities.  Was I willing to take off my hijab in order to get into medical school or get into a surgery program? When was I going to get married and have kids? If I managed to find a husband and have kids, how could I possibly continue to work? And so forth.

It’s been many years since I began my journey.  I am now a double-board certified trauma and acute care surgeon.  I am also married and, Alhamdulilaah, we’re blessed to have six little ones.  There are many things I wish I knew before I became a surgeon.  Here are three of them:

Social norms are not set in stone.

As a hijab wearing Muslim woman, my destiny was already defined by society.  Within my own culture, being a wife and a mother were deemed to be my top priority regardless of my own personal interests.  And outside of my culture, the stereotype of the quiet and submissive Muslim woman preceded my own persona.  In everyone’s eyes, I was set in that box and not allowed to deviate. 

When I chose the atypical field of surgery, essentially escaping the box, there were repeated efforts to try to place me back in it. I was frequently reminded that I was out of place. But by showing up everyday and persisting despite the negativity, I learned to become comfortable in occupying a space that wasn’t designed for me.  And as I became comfortable and more confident in myself, there were less reminders and less efforts to dissuade me.

When I learned to become comfortable with the idea of deviating from social norms, I realized the emotional toll it had taken on me and how much energy I spent on worrying about its consequences.  I wished someone had taught me how to deal with the near constant dismissal and dissuasion and impressed upon me that social norms are not set in stone and deviating from them should be normal.

It’s not uncommon for women and many underrepresented minorities in medecine to be told that they are likely taking up someone else’s position, someone presumed to be more deserving.

Deviating from the norm is difficult.

I was somewhat aware of the difficult path I was choosing when I decided to go to medical school.  I was in high school when I was told that continuing to wear my hijab would keep me from ever going into surgery.  And because I also expressed interest in having a family, surgery was deemed automatically out of my league.

My wanting to become a hijabi surgeon and mother was described as impossible.  While this should have prepared me for the level of difficulty in pursuing these goals simultaneously, I never would have imagined the intensity of the experience when racism, sexism, and Islamophobia were added to the mix.  I’ve always seen medicine as a welcoming and altruistic field where people who shared the common goal of caring for others came together. 

The fact that structural racism is sewn into the fabric of medicine was something that I unfortunately had to discover for myself and learn to navigate cautiously.  I wish it was made clear that while there is difficulty because of the physical demands of a surgical career and motherhood, navigating structural racism unprepared would be the biggest obstacle.

It’s ok to take up space.

As I became familiar with the exclusionary culture of medicine, I became astutely aware of why I didn’t belong in many spaces.  When I became pregnant with my first child as an intern (the first year of surgery residency), I was told by a surgery attending “You’ve got Black and Muslim going against you.  What were you thinking getting pregnant?” Simply put, my identity of being Black and Muslim were considered baggage I had to overcome. 

The expectation was that I overcompensate for this baggage.  And my choice to become a mother was considered defiance.  There were many times I was called “selfish” for becoming a mother in a tough surgery program.  It’s not uncommon for women and many underrepresented minorities in medicine to be told that they are likely taking up someone else’s position, someone presumed to be more deserving. 

It wasn’t until I became comfortable with my clinical knowledge and surgical skills that I accepted and acknowledged the fact that while I may not have been welcomed in these spaces, I belonged.  I belong in the trauma bay taking care of victims of gun violence and car accidents.  I belong in the operating room trying to save a life.  And I belong at my patient’s bedside who rely on my expertise to care for and comfort them and their families. 

I wish someone had taught me that it’s ok to take up space, even if it was never designed for me.  It’s ok to demand changes to systems that were not designed with us in mind. 

One the greatest lessons I learned from my journey into medicine is that systems and cultures are not set in stone either.  We, as individuals, are capable of advocating for ourselves and being agents of change to create more equitable work environments.  And in order for us to do that, we have to be willing to take up space. 

By: Qaali Hussein, M.D. FACS

Qaali Hussein

Dr. Qaali Hussein is a mom of six, trauma/critical care surgeon, change leader, co-host of the Professional Muslim Women Podcast, and the creator of “Taking Up Space: A Masterclass on Defying Norms and Setting Your Own Standards.”

Learn more at www.qaalihussein.com 

Source

Somalia jails four Ministry of Health officials for stealing Covid-19 funds

A Somali court on Monday sentenced four government officials to jail for having a hand in the theft of public funds meant for Covid-19 emergency response.

The case arose in April, just a month after Somalia reported its first case of Covid-19. At that time, the Ministry of Health revealed that a number of officials were under investigation for diverting public money.

The Banadir Regional Court, which covers crimes committed in Mogadishu and surrounding locations, found the four guilty following a case that drew public scrutiny in the use of the funds.

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Dr. Hawa Abdi, Somali Physician and Humanitarian, Remembered for Lifetime of Service

 Dr. Hawa Abdi Dhiblawe, the noted humanitarian and physician, died on August 5, 2020. She was 73. Known as ‘Mama Hawa’ by Somalis around the world, Dr. Abdi dedicated her life to providing hundreds of thousands of Somalis with life-saving care, even in times of war, famine, and drought. In New Haven, she is remembered for the inspiring work she and her daughter, Dr. Deqo Mohamed, pursued in partnership with the Schell Center for International Human Rights and other parts of Yale University.

Dr. Abdi received many awards and recognitions for her work, including a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, honorary degrees from Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, and the prestigious Chubb Fellowship from Timothy Dwight College at Yale. In 2016, she received the Clinton Global Initiative’s Leadership in Civil Society award. Hillary Clinton called Dr. Abdi 

a perfect example of the kind of woman who inspires me.

Dr. Abdi decided to become a doctor after her own mother died in childbirth. After studying medicine in Ukraine, she returned to Somalia and became the country’s first female obstetrician. She then completed a law degree at Somali National University in Mogadishu, where she later became an Assistant Professor of Medicine.

From the beginning of her career in medicine, Dr. Abdi worked to address the lack of viable healthcare for women in Somalia’s rural areas. She founded a women’s clinic on her family’s ancestral farmland close to Mogadishu, in the Afgooye Corridor. For years, she would wake up very early to tend to the farm, then travel to Mogadishu, where she worked as a full-time doctor and professor of medicine, and finally return home in the evenings to see the long line of women waiting outside her clinic. She only took payment from those who had the means. Even so, she managed to save up and grow the clinic into a 400-bed hospital.

Following the outbreak of civil war in Somalia in 1991, Dr. Abdi started housing her employees on her land, then their friends and relatives. Soon, her farmland became home to 90,000 people displaced by the conflict. Dr. Abdi, her family and their volunteer staff renamed the de facto IDP camp Hawa Abdi Hope Village. Dr. Abdi founded the Dr. Hawa Abdi Foundation (DHAF), which supported Hope Village’s efforts to create a sustainable agricultural program, sanitation facilities, a women’s education center, and primary and high schools.

Dr. Abdi, who has been described as “equal parts Rambo and Mother Teresa,” put her own life on the line to protect the residents of Hope Village. In 2010, militants attacked her hospital. Claiming that she, as a woman, had no right to manage the Village, they demanded that she cede control of the hospital and surrounding land to them. She refused, and the militants placed her under house arrest. With her daughters’ help, Dr. Abdi was able to communicate her plight to the media, and the militants released her after a few days. Dr. Abdi was not content: she insisted that the militants issue a formal apology to her and the Village, for the damage they had caused. And they did.

Dr. Deqo Mohamed and her sister, Amina, who is also a doctor, have always shared their mother’s vision. Both began assisting in their mother’s hospital when they were teenagers. They later became doctors and took over operations of the Village from Dr. Abdi. They continue to work to expand access to women’s healthcare in Somalia. In recent months, Dr. Mohamed, who also runs DHAF, has helped to lead Somalia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the past several years, DHAF has developed strong partnerships with Yale faculty, students, and the Schell Center. In 2015, Dr. Mohamed, who is a Gruber Fellow and Greenberg World Fellow, commissioned the Schell Center to create a curricular program on human rights and conflict resolution for Hope Village’s high school. Over four years, more than 10 Yale students developed a curriculum, which has now been piloted in Hope Village and at Somali National University. Kelsey Annu-Essuman (YC '16), who worked on the curriculum, said, “‘Inspirational’ does not begin to capture the influence Dr. Abdi's vision had on the communities and individuals who were fortunate enough to encounter her.”

Dr. Abdi’s mission for Hope Village exemplified the essence of what it means to believe in human rights for all.” Charlotte Finegold (YC ’17), who ran the curriculum project during her time as the Schell Center Community Fellow and volunteered for DHAF, reflected, “Working for and learning from Dr. Abdi and Dr. Mohamed has been the greatest privilege of my life. They have inspired me and so many others to emulate their resolve, fearlessness, and commitment to upholding human rights and gender equality, no matter the circumstances.” 

“For the Schell Center, hosting and working with Dr. Abdi and Dr. Mohamed was not only a great honor, but a gift to everyone who contributed to the human rights curriculum, heard them speak, or met them — a gift of inspiration and of learning,” said Jim Silk ’89, Binger Clinical Professor of Human Rights and Co-Director of the Schell Center. “Dr. Abdi’s courage, practical creativity, and patient persistence were heroic but can remind the rest of us of the hard work needed to achieve human rights at a time when traditional approaches often seem too feeble for the task.”

Additionally, Dr. Kaveh Khoshnood at the Yale School of Public Health is leading a team of students to support Dr. Mohamed’s work on maternal health and healthcare workforce development in Somalia. Currently, they are tracking the needs of people displaced by conflict in Somalia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Abdi visited New Haven in April 2017 to deliver the Chubb Fellowship lecture. The Office of General Counsel at Yale and Harvard, which had selected Dr. Abdi as an honorary degree recipient for that year's commencement, worked around the clock to ensure that Dr. Abdi could enter the U.S. after President Trump announced Executive Order 13769, which included Somalia on a list of seven countries from which migration to the U.S. would be severely limited.

On April 18, 2017, Dr. Abdi and her daughter, Dr. Mohamed, spoke to a full crowd at Sterling-Strathcona Auditorium, which included university faculty and students, as well as community activists and resettled refugees. Dr. Abdi discussed her difficult work of building and sustaining Hope Village for the displaced people of Somalia despite ongoing political instability and violence throughout the region.

“To this day,” Timothy Dwight Head Mary Lui said, “the Dr. Abdi event has remained one of our most meaningful in the college because of the importance of Dr. Abdi’s work and the strong connection we built with Dr. Deqo Mohamed who is now a TD fellow. We are honored and enriched by the strong friendship we have built with Dr. Mohamed and we look forward to hosting her regularly on her visits to New Haven as she continues her collaborations with Yale faculty to improve the delivery of public health services in her country.”

Source

3 Young Health Leaders Managed to Secure Scholarships from top ranked Western Universities

Dr. Osman Muhiyadin Abdulle and Fowzia Mohamed Hussein was selected as recipients of Scholarship by the Swedish Institute to attend one year post-graduate training through distance learning about the Innovation for Sustainable Health- Training programme at the Karolinska Institutet. 

 As a university, Karolinska Institutet (KI) is Sweden’s single largest centre of medical academic research and offers the country’s widest range of medical courses and programmes, also it.is one of the world’s foremost medical universities.

The program builds on the newly initiated Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health (CESH), a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet (KI), Makerere University (Mak) and other African academic partners such as Benadir University in Mogadishu, Somalia, and University of Kinshasa School of Public Health (KSPH) in DRC, which aims to address the complex health challenges of today and tomorrow as situated within the broader 2030 Agenda.

The activities of the training programme are designed to promote the establishment of strong networks across sectors and nations connecting the participants also to the CESH network.

 According the program website, when completing the programme, learners will receive a internationally recognized certificate and become part of an international network of academics and practitioners representing a wide range of stakeholders working towards sustainable health.

Fowzia previously attended an Introduction to Epidemiology class 2020, Project Management in Health fall class 2020 & Fundamentals of Research in Global Health-2020, while Dr. Osman completed in both the Fundamentals of Global Health Research 2020 and Project Management in Health- summer class 2020 offered by the University of Washington, Department of Global Health e-learning.   

 On the other hand, Dr. Khalid Abdirahman Abdullahi received full scholarship to pursue his online Master's degree in International Health Management (MIHM); at Arizona State University, USA (commonly referred to as ASU or Arizona State) which a public metropolitan research university on five campuses across the Phoenix metropolitan area, and four regional learning centers throughout Arizona. Since 2005, ASU has been ranked among the top research universities in the U.S., public and private, based on research output, innovation, development, research expenditures, number of awarded patents and awarded research grant proposals.

The scholarship offer statement reads as "Your application stood out for your many academic achievements and personal accomplishments. We are confident that you will reflect the Foundation's values and go on to be a successful leader, committed to giving to your community"

Dr. Khalid finished the Leadership and Management in Health course 2019, an Introduction to Epidemiology and the Project Management in Health 2020 run the University of Washington, Department of Global Health e-learning.  

1) Fowzia Mohamed Hussein (Gandi) from Hargeisa, Somaliland.
She studied Bachelor of Biomedical science at University of Hargeisa and Master of Public Health at Amoud University.
Currently, she currently works at Ministry of Health Development as Public-Private Partnership Coordinator, previously served as an Obstetric Fistula Officer at the Ministry of Health.

Fowzia Gandi

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𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞(𝐬) 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐚...𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬!

 This festivity event was held in Hargeisa to celebrate the completions of three 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔; namely 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡, 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 from the global health courses series run by the 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐄-𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 based in Seattle, Washington (USA) through distance learning.

Deputy Minister of Health of Somaliland cutting cake & celebrating with the graduates

According to 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒚’𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 7 𝑯𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒚 𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑷𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆, “sharpening the Saw keeps you fresh so you can continue to practice while also investing yourself with the available educational resources around you. You increase your capacity to produce and wisely handle the challenges around you. Without this renewal, the body becomes weak, the mind mechanical, the emotions raw, the spirit insensitive, and the person selfish”.

Special recognition and appreciation goes to those who organized & made this unique, stunning occasion possible, Hᴀᴍsᴇ Dᴀʜɪʀ Aʙᴅᴜʟʟᴀʜɪ, ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴀɴᴀɢᴇʀ, Fᴏᴡᴢɪᴀ Mᴏʜᴀᴍᴇᴅ Hᴜssᴇɪɴ (Gᴀɴᴅɪ), ᴀɴᴅ Mᴏʜᴀᴍᴇᴅ Mᴜsᴇ Kᴀssᴇᴍ. Similarly, I would like to give tribute our founding pillars and most senior healthcare executives who not only took these courses with us but also kept us inspired by their taught and wisdoms, 𝐷𝑟. 𝑀𝑜ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝐴ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝐴𝑏𝑑𝑖 (𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑎𝑦𝑡𝑜) of Somaliland Parliament and 𝐴ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑀𝑜ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝐽𝑎𝑚𝑎 from UNICEF and other highly profiled participants, particularly, 𝑀𝑟. 𝐴𝑏𝑑𝑒𝑘𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑚 𝑌𝑢𝑠𝑢𝑓 𝑀𝑢𝑠𝑒, Director of Kaah Community Hospital for his continuous financial support.

Displaying the certificates of completion

Lastly, our respectful appreciation must go to the honorable guests who graced the event, delivered their encouragement speeches, & awarded our participants for their certifications, their advices and kind support will remind in our minds for years, 𝐇.𝐄. 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐝𝐢 𝐎𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐮𝐮𝐫𝐢, Deputy Minister of Health Development and 𝐇. 𝐄. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐀𝐛𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐤𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐫 𝐎𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐚, the Deputy Minister of Planning & Development.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 article 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘴!...
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶

Online and On-Campus IELTS Training: Flexible, Efficient & Fast-track IELTS Preparation

ARE YOU A BUSY PROFESSIONAL, seeking personalized IELTS trainer who can teach you according to your level, schedule and band requirement and also wishing to grasp an opportunity to sit IELTS test at your own place and pace?

Then your search ends here with QETC.

Course Description and Objectives: 
About QETC Qalam Educational and Technical Center (QETC) is an international recognised academic institute with partnership with JP International Examinations in the UK and AlMadina International University in Malaysia.
 The institute offer diploma and certificate courses in the areas of English language (i.e. UK Functional English, Applied Spoken English, English for Doctors, English for Journalist, Academic Writing, IELTS, TOEFL and SAT preparation, etc.), Journalism and ICT. It is the only college in the country where all academic staff are professionals with foreign exposure. 
The main campus of QETC is located at Total Area, Jiciir Road in Hargeisa, Somaliland. Instructor: All instructors/lecturers at QETC are specialists who have got either PhDs, Masters or Bachelor’s degree in education or English language with over 10 years of teaching experience. 

Snapshot of important course notes 
LEVEL: Advanced (Academic) 
CREDIT HOURS: 144 hours                     COURSE CODES: IELTS-P 211 &212 
NO. OF SEMESTERS: TWO (2)               NO. OF CLASSES PER SEMESTER: 36

Course Timeline

IELTS Prep. course starts Mid-November

Diagnostic test: 09/11/2020 

Instructors: 
All instructors/lecturers at QETC are specialists who have got either PhDs, Masters or Bachelor’s degree in education or English language with over 10 years of teaching experience. 

Course Objectives
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
 build up academic related vocabulary and ideas suitable for writing any given academic topics.
 use language to convey specific messages to intended audiences;  use appropriate linguistic tools to present and communicate ideas in English formerly or informally. 
 demonstrate an understanding of the basic grammatical rules.
 assess their own speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, especially for academic clarity and contents. 
 choose specific language as well as writing and speaking techniques that make communication more successful, as they speak and write. 
 plan and write clear, concise, and correct academic documents and papers that exhibit global or university standard academic writing skills 
 effectively and efficiently use gesture and verbal communication skills to convey messages orally, with and without the aid of multimedia 
 develop spelling, vocabulary and pronunciation skills to aid independent listening skills in both academic and non-academic contexts.

Course Description: 
IELTS Preparation, as the name implies, is a six-month course, which focuses on the development and enhancement of skills in conventional academic listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Students will generally learn how to utilise their language learning skills, especially as an L2 user, in any academic context(s), specifically at college or university level, where English is used majorly as a medium of instruction.

 From QETC track record, none of our students has got less than 6.5 band in the main IELTS exams. More importantly, QETC also provides flexible fast-track IELTS preparation package for learner with upper intermediate and advanced skills in English, ranging from 1 month to 3 months. 

Certification: 
All participants who successfully complete the course will be certified by respective examining authorities.

 Evaluation Elements:

•  Individual reading and writing assignments (6 assignments worth 5% each) = 30% 
• Individual listening and speaking assessment(4 assignments worth 4% each) = 20% 
• Group work/presentation (2 per semester) = 10% 
• Monthly and final exams (2 monthly exams and 1 final exam per semester)= 40% 
• Total =100% 

Overall, 70% of the total grade will be based on individual assignments and monthly assessments, and 30% on classwork/participation and group work/presentation. 
Applied grammar and vocabulary development, critical receptive skills, and creativity academic writing and speaking skills will take a significant grading share.

 Requirements for Graded Work: 
1. Presentations/Participation: 
 Group Work/Presentation: 
The purpose of group work is to enhance your skill in working collaboratively. When a group-based assignment forms part of your evaluation for a grade, all members of the group will receive the same grade. 
Any exception to this policy, such as adjustments for relative contribution, will be specified in writing prior to the grading of the assignment.
  Individual autographic and auditory assignment:
 The individual assignment or work grade will be based on in-class innovative and applied oral and written responses to given tasks, which encourages audience active participation throughout. 
 Note:
 Students are expected to attend all classes in which they are enrolled. Attending class is an important part of the learning process in this course. 
Attendance exposes you to material not in the readings, to your classmates' insights and helps clarify material that can lead to better performance in the course. 
Students with unexcused absences from more than one class session will be penalized with a reduction of 5% of the presentation component. More than five absences will result to 25% off the individual assignment component. And the penalty for having more than four (4) absences monthly is denial to sit monthly and finalexams.

2. Classwork: 
Please note that just submitting your assignments is not enough to warrant a full grade. You must ensure your work is academically and creatively presented (where necessary) in order to gain full marks. 
3. End of the Month and Final Exams: 
this covers 40% of the total grades.

COURSE OUTLINE COURSE CONTENTS – IELTS-P 211 
First Semester - IELTS-P 211 
A. IELTS Academic Writing 
Part 1 
 General Introduction to IELTS Grammar and Vocabulary.
 Understanding visual prompts and analyzing questions.
 Describing a line graph.
 Describing a chart.
 Describing a diagram.
 Interpreting a table.
 Working with two visual prompts.
 Making correlations. 
 Comparing and contrasting quantities and numbers.
 Selecting and organising ideas 
 Connectives I: Signposting a sequence of events.

 Part 2 
 How to present argument in academic writing.
 Generating ideas for an essay.
 Writing and introduction and conclusion.
 How to modify a statement.
 Connectives II: Signposting main points.
 Connectives III: How to use cohesive devices.
 How to develop supporting examples.
 How to develop and link supporting examples.

Part 3
  How to punctuate academic writing effectively.
  How to use appropriate.
  Paragraphing: How to write topic sentences.
  Diction I: How to use appropriate vocabulary.
  Diction II: How to avoid repletion in speaking and writing – Use of synonyms.
  Grammar I: Correcting errors in academic writing and speaking    Grammar II: Developing proofreading skills 

B. IELTS Listening (Academic) 
  How to complete a form.
  Matching 
  How to complete a table 
  How to complete a flow chart 
  How to answer multiple-choice questions 
  How to label maps and plans 
  How to complete a note 
  How to label a diagram 
  Classifying a text 
  How to match sentence fragments 
  How to choose answers from a list 
  How to answer short questions 
  How to complete sentences/summaries  
  How to select from a list.

 Second Semester - IELTS-P 212 
C. IELTS Academic Reading
 Matching headings.
 Completing tables and diagrams.
 Answering short-answer questions.
 Matching sentence endings.
 Matching information.
 Matching features.
 Answering multiple-choice questions.
 Completing sentence and diagram labels.
 Completing notes, summaries and flow charts.
 Identifying information: Answering true/false/not given questions.
 Identifying writer’s views or claims: Answering yes/no/not given questions.

 D. IELTS Speaking (Academic) 
IELTS Pronunciation/Phonetics 
 Strong and weak form of preposition.
 Expressing enthusiasm.
 Word Stress 
 Long and short vowels 
 Consonants 
 Sentence Stress and Schwa 
 Past tense –ed ending and diphthongs 
 Silent letters 
 Extra stress IELTS Morpho-syntactic Presentation 
 Vocabulary: Learning a new word/knowing a word 
 Expressing opinions 
 Speculating 
 Using complex sentences 
 Expressing attitude 
 Phrasal verbs 
 Expressing ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’ 
 Effective use of ‘used to’ and ‘would’ in oral communication 
 Describing places 
 Using future forms in oral communication 
 Indirect self-expression IELTS Speaking Test Tactics 
 Planning your answers 
 Fluency 
 Giving answers that are the right length 
 Using news articles to improve your answers 
 Giving yourself time to think 
 Coherence 
 Sounding polite 
 Clarifying, paraphrasing and giving examples 
 Predicting questions 
 Type of speakers and self-identification 

For further inquiries:
contact us: 063-4755882, 0634338868 or 0633330094, or email us at info.qetc@gmail.com 
Mutiu Olawuyi, Executive Director, Qalam Educational & Technical Center (QETC) Hargeisa, Somaliland. e.director@qalamedutech.com 
Official website: https://qalamedutech.com/