Dr. Zahra Hassan Houssein

Dr. Zahra Hassan Houssein is a rheumatologist based at the Centre Hospitalier Hassan Gouled Aptidon, Djibouti's main public referral hospital. She is among the few specialist rheumatologists practising in the Horn of Africa, serving not only Djiboutian patients but also patients from neighbouring Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia who access Djibouti's relatively more developed healthcare system. With a decade of clinical experience and specialist training in France, she manages inflammatory arthritis, crystal arthropathies, autoimmune diseases, and metabolic bone disease. Gout is particularly prevalent in the Horn of Africa population and constitutes a significant part of her clinical workload. She consults in four languages — French, Somali, Arabic, and English — reflecting the diverse population of Djibouti's strategic port city. Her patient-centred approach focuses on early diagnosis, lifestyle modification, and judicious use of disease-modifying therapy adapted to Djibouti's healthcare resource context.

Dr. Hassan Houssein obtained her Doctorat en Médecine from the Université de Djibouti Faculty of Medicine. She was awarded a government scholarship to pursue specialist training in France, completing the Diplôme d'Études Spécialisées (DES) in Internal Medicine with a rheumatology orientation at the Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse — one of France's major rheumatology training centres. During her training she gained expertise in musculoskeletal ultrasound, synovial fluid analysis, and the use of biologic therapies for inflammatory arthritis. She maintains her links with French rheumatology through associate membership of the Société Française de Rhumatologie and attends its annual congresses when possible.

Dr. Hassan Houssein's expertise spans inflammatory arthritis, autoimmune connective tissue diseases, crystal arthropathies, and metabolic bone disease. She diagnoses and manages rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and reactive arthritis. In autoimmune disease, she treats systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and mixed connective tissue disease. Gout and calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease form a major part of her crystal arthropathy practice. She performs joint aspiration for both diagnostic synovial analysis and therapeutic corticosteroid injection. Musculoskeletal ultrasound guides her procedural work and assists in early inflammatory arthritis detection. She also evaluates and manages osteoporosis with DEXA scanning and pharmacological intervention.

Dr. Hassan Houssein's multilingual capability (French, Somali, Arabic, English) makes her highly accessible to the diverse international community in Djibouti, as well as to patients travelling from the region. She regularly sees patients from Djibouti's Ethiopian and Somali communities. International visitors and expatriates requiring rheumatological assessment can contact Centre Hospitalier Hassan Gouled Aptidon's outpatient department to schedule appointments. She can correspond in French or English with referring physicians abroad and can review blood work and imaging sent electronically prior to a consultation.

Dr. Hassan Houssein is registered with the Conseil National des Médecins de Djibouti and holds associate membership with the Société Française de Rhumatologie. She was among the first Djiboutian women to complete specialist training in rheumatology and has been recognised by the Djiboutian Ministry of Health for her contributions to developing this scarce specialty in the country. She contributes to teaching internal medicine at the Université de Djibouti's Faculty of Medicine and supervises rotating residents through rheumatology outpatient clinics.