PSI Som works to understand the Somali people and their health market to address barriers to access and open channels for the improvement of the existing health system. By partnering with the public and private sectors, harvesting innovation and technology and bringing quality care closer to communities, PSI Som co-creates solutions with Somalis and ensures that their voices guide national health priorities. Their approach harnesses the vitality of the private sector while strengthening the oversight by the public sector to improve health outcomes for all.
PSI Som has worked to measurably improve the health of Somali women and children since 2007, addressing the most serious health challenges that affect resource poor and vulnerable Somali communities. In support of the Somali Ministry of Health, PSI Som provides products and services in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition.
PSI Som estimates that in 2018, its products and services in Somalia and Somaliland provided 24,691 years of healthy life for Somalis, including:
1,887
years of healthy life provided by contraception
21,756
years of healthy life for mothers and children
1,047
years of access to quality sanitation
PSI Som, in close collaboration with local Somali institutions, has facilitated provider trainings on actively managing the third stage of labor, including the safe and correct use of misoprostol to prevent or treat post-partum hemorrhage, a leading cause of maternal mortality. Misoprostol, marketed under the name Ummul-gargaar, is available at selected Somali health facilities and provided by qualified personnel at subsidized prices.
PSI Som supports the Ministry of Health to provide an essential package of health services including maternal, newborn and child health services through public and private facilities in select regions of Somalia and Somaliland. PSI Som also creates demand for the use of these services and influences positive healthy behaviors.
In 2014, PSI Som introduced a high-quality, pre-packaged pediatric dose of amoxicillin tablets for non-severe cases of pneumonia through the public sector at maternal and child health clinics in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. PSI Som also launched a behavior change communication campaign to encourage mothers to visit their local clinics to seek care for children showing the two danger signs of pneumonia. In 2016, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, PSI Som introduced the branded amoxicillin product into the private sector through PSI-affiliated pharmacies.
PSI Som has also addressed the burden of malnutrition in Somalia and Somaliland by marketing the micronutrient powder Super Fariid, which provides iron to reduce anemia among children under 5. Super Fariid was launched in 2014 and is distributed at retail locations across the country.
PSI Som creates approaches that seek to overcome significant barriers to contraceptive use, adapting its programming to the sociocultural and economic environments of their target populations. PSI Som distributes contraception for birth spacing and uses behavior change communication targeting women of reproductive age to create demand for and increase the use of modern contraceptive methods.
PSI Som launched oral contraceptives in 2010 and contraceptive injectables in 2011. In 2016, PSI Som began support for contraceptive implants (Implanon) through trained private health facilities in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
PSI Som uses a market development approach and user-centered design techniques to better understand water, sanitation and hygiene needs in Somalia and Somaliland, with a focus on sanitation.
For the prevention of diarrhea, one of the biggest causes of death for children under 5, PSI Som works to ensure access to safe drinking water by marketing BiyoSifeeye, a simple and cost-effective water purification tablet. Each tablet of BiyoSifeeye treats 20 liters of water and is sold in affordable strips of four tablets, which allows consumers with minimal disposable cash to afford safe drinking water for their families. To manage diarrhea cases, PSI Som markets Shuban Daweeye diarrhea treatment kits, which include oral rehydration salts and zinc supplementation tablets.
PSI Som uses a market development approach and user-centered design techniques to better prevent and treat non-communicable diseases in Somalia and Somaliland, particularly hypertension and diabetes.
In July 2011, PSI Som designed a social franchise network—Bulsho-Kaab, translated as “community helper”—to harness the potential of private pharmacies and contribute to the provision of high-quality services and products. The Bulsho-Kaab network was designed to offer an integrated package of services that included a range of reproductive and child health interventions, offered at affordable prices for low-income communities. Bulsho-Kaab clinics also allow private providers to generate increased revenue from an expanding clientele, which is generated by media and community awareness for Bulsho-Kaab products and services. PSI also provides on-the-job supervision for Bulsho-Kaab health providers with its team of trained medical detailers.
