From rebuilding Somalia’s health systems to leading the national COVID-19 response, Dr. Abdulrazaq Yusuf Ahmed exemplifies visionary public health leadership, crisis management, and institutional innovation.
Main Roles & Career
Director General of National Health Insurance Authority – Federal Ministry of Health
Former Director of Human Resources – Federal Ministry of Health From 25 September 2025 to present
Dr. Abdulrazaq Yusuf Ahmed currently serves as the Director of Human Resources at the Federal Ministry of Health, Somalia, leading national initiatives to strengthen the health workforce, enhance HR governance, and institutionalize training and career development pathways for healthcare professionals.
• Strategic Workforce Planning: Oversees national health workforce assessments, staffing standards, and equitable deployment of health professionals.
• Capacity Building & Professional Development: Introduced continuing education, in-service training, and performance management systems to enhance healthcare delivery across all regions.
• Regulatory Oversight: Coordinates with the National Health Professionals Council to ensure licensure, ethical practice, and harmonized HR policies.
• Digital HR Systems: Leads digitization of HR records and the introduction of HR Information Systems (HRIS) integrated with the health management information framework.
• Equity & Retention Policies: Focuses on incentives for rural health workers, gender equity in recruitment, and retention of skilled specialists.
• Leadership Pipeline: Mentors emerging health administrators and mid-level managers to ensure sustainable institutional leadership.
Summary:
As Director of HR, Dr. Abdulrazaq’s leadership ensures that Somalia’s health system is not only rebuilt but also sustained by a competent, motivated, and equitably distributed workforce — a cornerstone for Universal Health Coverage.
Deputy Director General & Director of Medical Services – Federal Ministry of Health (2012–2018)
Between 2012 and 2018, Dr Abdulrazaq Yusuf Ahmed (Dr Jalaaludiin) served in one of the most formative periods of Somalia’s post-conflict health recovery, holding the dual portfolio of Deputy Director General and Director of Medical Services.
From rebuilding Somalia’s health systems to leading the national COVID-19 response, Dr. Abdulrazaq Yusuf Ahmed exemplifies visionary public health leadership, crisis management, and institutional innovation.
Deputy Director General & Director of Medical Services – Federal Ministry of Health (2012–2018)
Short paragraph:
Between 2012 and 2018, Dr Abdulrazaq Yusuf Ahmed (Dr Jalaaludiin) served in one of the most formative periods of Somalia’s post-conflict health recovery, holding the dual portfolio of Deputy Director General and Director of Medical Services.
• In that role, he was not a passive custodian of services but an architect of systems: rebuilding national functions, re-connecting federal and regional health authorities, and setting in motion institutions that Somalia continues to rely on today.
Key Areas:
1. Designing and rolling out the Essential Package of Health Services (EPHS):
• Contributed to adapting and operationalising EPHS for Somalia’s realities, linking primary, secondary, and referral care, and embedding RMNCAH and communicable-disease services.
• Led the technical and coordination work to implement EPHS.
• Ensured alignment with Somalia’s epidemiological profile and adaptability to federal member states.
• Used EPHS to standardize care, rationalize donor inputs, and reduce urban–rural inequity.
2. Re-establishing Regional and State-Level Health Authorities:
• Supported reactivation and technical guidance of regional health offices.
• Introduced clear lines for referral, reporting, outbreak notification, and supervision.
• Federal–member state health diplomacy became a template for sector-wide coordination.
3. Laying the Foundation for National Public Health Infrastructure:
• National Referral Laboratory, National Institute of Health, National Health Professionals Council.
• Built the “organs” of a health system fragmented by conflict.
4. Leadership in Medicines Regulation & Rational Use:
• Strengthened pharmaceutical governance, rational use of medicines, and compliance with international narcotics control standards.
5. Maternal, Newborn & Reproductive Health Expansion:
• Supported midwifery, SBA training, updated guidelines, female community health workers, and secondary-level obstetric care.
6. Diagnostics and Secondary Care Enhancement:
• Introduced imaging, lab strengthening, and SOPs to raise secondary care standards.
7. Community Health & Health in All Policies (HiAP) Advocacy:
• Revitalized female community health workers.
• Advocated for integration of health across government policies.
8. Emergency Preparedness, Epidemics & One Health:
• Coordinated multi-hazard responses, promoted integrated human–animal–environment health approaches.
9. Mental Health, NCDs and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs):
• Socialized mental health, advocated early inclusion of NCDs and NTDs in national planning.
Summary: From 2012–2018, he helped rebuild the scaffolding of Somalia’s national health system.
Senior Advisor / Team Lead – Health Systems Strengthening & UHC – Federal Ministry of Health (2018–2020)
After 2018, he transitioned from service-delivery oversight to systems-level leadership, establishing a cohesive, sustainable, and inclusive health system.
1. Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Agenda & Roadmap for Somalia:
• Coordinated technical dialogue framing UHC as a realistic, phased pathway adapted to Somalia’s context.
• Positioned primary health care and EPHS financing as natural entry points.
2. Health-systems strengthening framework:
• Led WHO building blocks workstreams.
• Set performance indicators.
• Aligned donor projects and federal/state priorities.
3. Diagnostics, Secondary Care & Referral Strengthening:
• Expanded diagnostic capacity.
• Introduced SOPs and mentored staff using DHIS2 and surveillance outputs.
4. Governance and partner coordination:
• Improved MoH convening power to sustain reforms beyond project cycles.
• Created a culture of federal leadership and partner alignment.
5. Linking HSS to preparedness:
• Treated outbreaks, droughts, and displacement as structural issues.
• Built permanent surveillance, labs, and supply-chain assets.
National Incident Manager, COVID-19 – Federal Ministry of Health (2020–2022)
Dr. Abdulrazaq Yusuf Ahmed stands as a visionary leader and transformation architect at the forefront of public health and healthcare delivery in Somalia and on the global stage. His leadership is defined by a rare blend of academic rigor, executive effectiveness, and unwavering commitment to health equity in fragile settings.
Crisis Leadership & National Impact: COVID-19 Incident Manager
As the National Incident Manager for the COVID-19 Pandemic (March 2020 – July 2022), Dr. Abdulrazaq was tasked with directing Somalia’s most significant public health emergency response. His work was characterized by life-saving coordination and innovative solutions in a resource-constrained environment.
* Life-Saving Coordination: He led and coordinated the national response across federal, state, and regional levels, orchestrating preparedness plans, surveillance, case management, and the national vaccine rollout. He fostered essential multi-sectoral collaboration with security, education, and international partners like the WHO and Africa CDC to mobilize resources and expertise.
* Innovative Response: His leadership at the Public Health Emergency Operations Center developed national response protocols and outbreak investigation procedures that were crucial in controlling the spread of the virus and saving countless lives. This response was internationally recognized for its effectiveness.
* Frontline Command: Amidst the crisis, he simultaneously managed the treatment of over 32,000 COVID-19 patients at De Martino Hospital, expanding critical care capacity and introducing innovative triage and infection-control strategies despite immense personal and resource challenges.
Pillars of the Response:
• Evidence before panic: National guidelines, triage algorithms, SOPs standardized clinical care nationwide.
• One country, one room: PHEOC unified federal, state, UN, INGO, and security actors.
• Health diplomacy as a tool: Partnerships leveraged for supplies, training, and surge teams.
• Community-facing risk communication: Integrated public awareness and mosque-level messaging.
From National Call to Hospital Command:
• Led De Martino Public Hospital as the main COVID-19 referral facility.
• Managed over 32,000 patients.
• Transformed it into a 375-bed multi-service hospital with isolation, emergency, maternity, and nutrition units.
Achievements:
1. Functioning national COVID-19 command architecture.
2. Policy translated into bedside care.
3. Expansion and modernization of De Martino Hospital.
4. Scalability in a fragile setting.
5. International recognition of Somalia’s COVID-19 response.
Director General – De Martino Public Hospital
Transformed the hospital into a nationally trusted facility during COVID-19, overseeing infrastructure expansion, infection prevention, staff management, and patient care standards.
Hospital Transformation & Excellence: Director General, De Martino Public Hospital
Since June 2020, Dr. Abdulrazaq has served as the Director General (CEO) of De Martino Public Hospital, Somalia’s largest public hospital and a critical national referral and teaching center. His tenure has been marked by profound transformation, transitioning the hospital from a crisis-prone facility to a national model for quality care.
* Hospital Transformation and Service Expansion: He oversaw the establishment of new, essential service lines, including Emergency, Maternity, Isolation, and Nutrition wards, to meet the surging healthcare demands during and after the pandemic. His strategic efforts positioned De Martino as the sole public sector pandemic response center.
* Setting the Standard for Quality of Care: Dr. Abdulrazaq championed clinical governance reforms, implementing and institutionalizing standardized care protocols and operating procedures that dramatically improved patient outcomes, including reduced mortality and length of stay, while significantly increasing patient satisfaction.
* Fostering a Resilient Institution: He successfully drove initiatives for financial sustainability through resource optimization and cost reduction. His commitment to institutional improvement has enhanced hospital governance and training, strengthening the hospital’s enduring legacy as the principal training ground for Somalia’s future healthcare workforce.
Dr. Abdulrazaq Yusuf Ahmed’s impact is underscored by accolades such as the WHO Global Health Leadership Award and the International Hospital Federation Award, recognizing his resilient leadership and commitment to health system strengthening in one of the world’s most challenging environments.
Transformed the hospital into a nationally trusted facility during COVID-19, overseeing infrastructure expansion, infection prevention, staff management, and patient care standards.
Clear entry points, isolation zones, teleconsulting services, and community outreach.
• Scaled hospital capacity efficiently under resource-limited conditions.
Coordinator – Master of Tropical & Infectious Diseases, Benadir University
Nurtures the next generation of researchers and public health leaders.
Leads curriculum development, mentors students, integrates research and field experience into training.
Major Achievements
1. National Leadership in Health System Reform
• Rebuilt Somalia’s core health structures, including EPHS, regulatory bodies, and public health infrastructure.
2. Expansion and Modernization of De Martino Hospital
• Expanded from 20 to 375 beds, introduced multi-departmental services, and implemented clinical governance.
3. Pandemic Response & National COVID-19 Command
• Coordinated Somalia’s largest public-health emergency, establishing national command structures and effective response mechanisms.
4. Academic Leadership & Mentorship•Coordinator at Benadir University, training future public health leaders and researchers.5. Global Representation & Diplomacy•Represented Somalia in international health platforms, strengthening partnerships and knowledge exchange.