Biography

Dr. Samira is the Assistant Director of Medical Services at Coast Provincial General Hospital (CPGH), which is a government hospital. She is also the clinician-in-charge at the Family Care Clinic (FCC), which is located inside CPGH. Despite growing up in a conservative community where women are rarely seen, let alone heard, Dr. Samira pursued her lifelong dream and became a doctor. She has a deep passion for helping people, especially children. Dr. Samira has worked at CPGH since finishing medical school in the early 2000s. In her early work at the hospital, she began to carry deeply emotional connections to the patients she served. She witnessed deaths of young HIV patients and the grief of their families. She listened to the trauma of young women who were raped and had unwanted pregnancies. Each of these stories informed her goals and motivated her to create a comprehensive care plan for all her patients. She later earned her Masters in Public Health to help transform and define her comprehensive approach to practicing medicine and effective family health care.

Family Care Clinic was founded as a pilot program in 2001. At that time, most experts thought HIV treatment would not work for kids in Africa. With access to treatment at the clinic though, the HIV epidemic has changed in Mombasa, and many of the children have now grown into adolescents. In 2021, they are currently serving over 3,500 youth living with HIV/AIDS or who are in need of a range of sexual/reproductive health services.