After making a heartfelt public appeal for assistance, activist and journalist Hanifa Aden is finally set to receive professional medical treatment for a debilitating ear condition.
Earlier this week, Hanifa took to the social media platform X to share her plight and ask for help in locating a reputable ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist or hospital.
During her appeal, she disclosed that she has been battling chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), a long-term ear infection that has progressively impacted her hearing.
Her message quickly gained traction, with hundreds of well-wishers and medical professionals responding with support, advice and recommendations for hospitals.
She later returned to X to announce that she had finally found the help she needed.
‘I have no words. Thank you all so much. So, so much. I am oozing with gratitude,” she wrote in a post that received an outpouring of support.
When asked by a follower whether she had managed to book an appointment with a specialist, she responded optimistically by saying: “Yep, tomorrow morning, insha Allah. Lazima booking kwanza.”
In a separate post, she wrote, “Good morning, my loves. I honestly have no words. I woke up to hundreds of messages and comments, and each one means the world to me. Thank you, truly, for taking the time to help me find a specialist. I’ve saved all your recommendations and will act on them immediately.”
Hanifa revealed that this was the first time she had spoken publicly about her condition, which had caused her insecurity and emotional distress for years.
“Being able to finally speak openly about my progressive hearing loss and the challenges I’ve faced feels huge. It has been my biggest insecurity and has shaped my life in so many ways,” she shared.
While the upcoming surgery will not restore her hearing, it is expected to stop the infection that has been causing further deterioration.
“Just knowing there’s a way forward has lifted such a weight off me,’ she said, adding that she has already started learning sign language ‘just in case I ever wake up and can’t hear again”.
Hanifa also explained why she chose to make her appeal on X: ‘The community here has always supported me. It felt like the right place to ask.”
In earlier posts, she described her struggle to find a hospital that could offer more than temporary relief.
