horn of africa
Health Disparities Lab for Horn of Africa: Amongst the vast disparities present in numerous areas in continents, our physicians like Dr. Mohamed Abdihalim, an American based neuroradiologist, originally from Somalia, and now currently residing in the Twin Cities, gives his time and energy to rural clinics in the Horn of Africa. He founded Somali Medical relief in 2017. Since joining GMNG, he has used the network to help scale his project to reach over 13,000 patients – including 3360 stroke and 2750 cancer patients. Somali Medical stands alone as the sole radiological healthcare provider within a 500-mile radius in northeast Somalia.
Dr. Abdihalim has leveraged the user-controlled network through:
Access to Honeycomb 2 (Health Tech) partner companies for clinical support staff and customized telemedicine software platforms.
Access to Honeycomb 7 (Practice Management) experts for guidance on purchasing heavily discounted radiology equipment, enabling healthcare services for the vulnerable populations targeted by Dr. Abdihalim.
With expanded network collaboration and cooperation among physicians and others dedicated to reducing healthcare disparities, we can further enhance care for rural and underserved populations worldwide.
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Dr. Abdihalim is a neuroradiologist and 2019 Quinn Prize recipient. This award is awarded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and provides recipients up to$10,000 for achievements regarding the “development of an innovative solution to a societal problem, creation of a significant community program, or publication of an important work. In all cases, it is important that the outstanding achievement touches the lives of others in meaningful ways and demonstrates impact.”
Source: The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation website
Bosasso is a city in north Somalia, near the tip of the Horn of Africa. It has a population of nearly 200,000 people and is a major regional business hub and seaport.
Bosasso is also a Sister City to Minneapolis, where Dr. Abdihalim resides, since 2014. The Sister City program started in the 1960’s to “foster people-to-people citizen diplomacy.”
“I learned from my work in Bosasso to not to be afraid to try to make some positive impact, no matter how little, on huge societal problems. I learned my own contributions and commitment can have tremendous benefits to those patients halfway across the world in a meaningful way.”
How does GMNG fit in with Dr. Abdihalim’s entrepreneurship?
GMNG has access to over 300+ subject matter experts that span across 7 portfolios (honeycombs). As a result of GMNG’s Diversity Bonus, any digital health problem that Horn of Africa experienced, GMNG’s membership gave him access to analysts and subject matter experts to solve problems that are common for early stage startups.
GMNG’s partnerships with Health Technology companies allowed Dr. Abdihalim to get access to Ambra Health’s cloud-based service that enabled his clinic(s) to upload medical images to the server for him to provide a report and a telemedicine report, all while residing in the United States.
In December 2020, Dr. Abdihalim utilized the GMNG network to purchase a high caliber CT machine establish as a second site for the growing Horn of Africa Project. Using GMNG’s virtual platform to network, Dr. Abdihalim had his questions answered from GMNG’s growing database that includes data from other entrepreneurs that have attempted to scale similar efforts.
Dr. Abdihalim’s GMNG membership enabled him access to an analyst, Osama Syed, who provided the time and energy needed to bring leading GMNG C-Suite Advisors/Members like Aatif Rahman to regular virtual meetings to ensure that the expansion of the clinics occurred. GMNG facilitated the tedious process of evaluating the equipment in the USA before it was purchased and then shipped overseas.
In summary, Dr. Abdihalim has invested large amount of money into the Horn of Africa project, and since 2017 has saved him greater then $30,000 in savings by the GMNG membership then trying to do the project on his own.