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WHO in Somalia
Making strides for Somalia’s children: working to close the longest variant poliovirus outbreak in the Region
A child waits to receive vaccines during an integrated campaign, Mogadishu, 2022. Credit: WHO/Mukhtar Sudani/Ismail Taxte 18 July 2023 – On a March day in the village of Burhakaba, Somalia, two-year-old Turki Abdinor Osman’s family didn’t find it unusual when he developed a fever and started to vomit. But soon afterwards, the toddler developed weakness...
In the face of an alarming increase in conflict-related sexual violence, WHO scales up response for prevention and elimination of sexual and gender-based violence
19 June 2023 – Since 2015, every year the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict is commemorated on 19 June. The date chosen marks the adoption of the 2008 Security Council resolution condemning sexual violence as a “tactic of war and an impediment to peacebuilding.” Each year, the United Nations and other partners seek to...
Cholera cases on the rise in Somalia amid rising displacement of people
Suspected cholera cases surge in Somalia as conflict and a multi-season drought displace more than 1.4 million people, many into camps lacking access to safe water and sanitation A 3-year-old Somow lies stretched out on a cholera cot at Bayhow General Hospital in Baidoa, Somalia, 21 March 2023. Credit: WHO/Somalia BAIDOA, 17 May 2023 – Stretched out on a...
WHO launches training to transform the care of mothers and newborns in Somalia
Mogadishu 5 May 2023 – The World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office in Somalia and the Federal Ministry of Health have come together on the International Day of the Midwife to recognize the essential role of midwives in delivering quality health care services and reducing preventable maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Befitting to this...
World Malaria Day 2023 – zeroing in on malaria
A WHO staff member inspecting a small water tank to identify and control mosquito breeding sites. Credit: WHO Mogadishu 25April 2023 – The Federal Ministry of Health, together with the World Health Organization (WHO) Somalia, commemorates World Malaria Day on 25 April to reflect on the progress made in the fight to eliminate malaria. Malaria...
World Immunization Week 2023: Somalia resolves to work on “The Big Catch-Up”
Vaccinators continue to save children from vaccine preventable diseases across Somalia. Credit: WHO/Somalia Mogadishu, 24 April 2023 – The Federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), observed World Immunization Week under the global theme of “The Big...
WHO continues to support and invest in community-based surveillance system for COVID-19 and epidemic-prone diseases with USAID support
WHO-supported community health workers help connect communities with nearby health facilities to win hearts and minds of locals. Credit: WHO/Somalia Mogadishu, 15 April 2023 – The World Health Organization (WHO) Somalia with the timely support of United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID) is helping the Ministry of Health to...
At-risk ‘zero dose children’ get vaccines as Somalia drought woes mount
As drought stretches into a sixth season, WHO outreach teams target unvaccinated children reaching displacement camps where measles and pneumonia are rife. 3 April 2023 – Baidoa, Somalia – Somali farmer Fadumo Mohamed Ibrahim’s crops failed in the drought and she set out on foot for help. Twenty-five days later, she and her daughter Khaliye...
WHO helps Somalia establish a functional medical supply chain as part of resilience-building for the health system
Air transportation is the major means of transportation across the country to maintain a medical supply chain across Somalia. Credit: WHO Somalia Mogadishu, 2 April 2023 – To ensure sustained and reliable health services in an extremely challenging environment, WHO has used innovation and creativity to help the Federal and State ministries of...
New study finds that 43 000 “excess deaths” may have occurred in 2022 from the drought in Somalia
Half of the drought-related deaths occurred among children under the age of 5 Mogadishu, 20 March 2023 – A new report released today by the Federal Ministry of Health & Human Services, WHO and UNICEF suggests that an estimated 43 000 excess deaths may have occurred in 2022 in Somalia due to the deepening drought, a figure higher than that of the...
