I am the President, and Chief Executive Officer of Somali Research and Development Institute (SORDI) formerly, Somali Disaster Resilience Institute (SDRI). The first Somalia focused Research and Knowledge management leadership programming and evidence institute. I have an extensive experience in handling all aspects of humanitarian assistance research and programming as an implementer, evaluator, and academic. As President of SORDI I work with several donors such as EU, FCDO and USA Government funded research, monitoring, evaluation and learning projects. I play a key role in research, strategic planning, policy and program development, and emergency global response. I am also the former Rector of Benadir University. In my role, I was the highest academic and executive person of the largest medical university in Somalia. I chaired the academic council of the university, which sets the curriculum and syllabus of the courses taught at the seven faculties of the university. I also managed the finances, external relations and am a member of the board of trustees of the university. I am also the former Vice-President of Somali Research and Education Network that has the largest of Somali universities’ network in Somaliland, Puntland and South Central.
I am the Director & Consultant Ophthalmologist of Al-Nur Eye Hospital, Mogadishu, SOMALIA. As consultant ophthalmologist, I am responsible for the running of the hospital. I undertake outpatient clinics, routine eye surgeries, teaching at the medical school and school of nursing, supervision of the clinic staff. I am also involved in several collaborative research projects. Formerly I was the Consultant Ophthalmologist & Head of Training & Research, Right to Sight, London United Kingdom and Clinical Research Fellow in Ophthalmology International Centre for Eye health, Institute of Ophthalmology, London, United kingdom. I was responsible for organization and management of research clinics in Africa (Gambia and Tanzania). My main research area is Health Systems in Fragile and Conflict affected settings, ranging from Social Determinants of Health, Vulnerability and Social Capital factors, human resource training, deployment and retention across Somalia.
I graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, Somali National University, obtaining my Bachelor in Medicine Bachelor in Surgery. I did my residency in Clinical Ophthalmology at the University of Bristol, and obtained Master in Community Health at University College London. I obtained my PhD from University College London, focusing on the Epidemiology of Non Communicable diseases. I have a research portfolio spanning over 20 years, with over 28 articles published in peer-reviewed journals. I am the Co-Principal investigator of International Consortia, including Branch, Laser, and EQUAL and MESH all focusing on health and education in Somalia. In 2020, the late Queen of England honored me with a Member of British Empire (MBE) award in recognition of my long-term work and advocacy for the rights of Persons with Disability in Somalia.