According to UNICEF figures, infant mortality in Somalia is amongst the highest in the world, barely 30% of the population has access to clean water and only 13% of boys and 7% of girls attend school.
Despite these unsettled conditions, International Medical Corps has been operating in Somalia since 1991. Throughout the past two decades, we have implemented Primary Health Care, Nutrition, Emergency Feeding, Water/Sanitation/Hygiene (WASH) and Post Harvest Storage programmes in Somalia.
The worst drought to affect East Africa in 60 years causing rising food prices and wide scale crop failure coupled with instability caused by fighting between government forces and Al-Shabaab, an Islamist movement that controls large parts of the country have created one of the world’s most acute humanitarian emergencies in Somalia. 2011 saw famine declared in several regions of Somalia and millions of refugees have fled to neighbouring countries. Whilst the famine has now been brought under control, more than 2.3 million Somalis, almost a third of the population, are still in need of aid. International Medical Corps is responding to the drought and famine crisis with targeted emergency nutrition and WASH services in Somalia well as services in Somali refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya
Through funding from OFDA, International Medical Corps has rolled out nutrition and WASH resources for drought-affected communities in the Abudwak district of Galgaduud region. The programme works to mitigate the effects of the current drought as well as strengthen the capacity of the local population to more effectively deal with disasters in the future. Our local team is focussed on managing severe and moderate acute malnutrition, implementing nutrition education and behaviour change as well as improving water supply and sanitation.
In addition, we are training local hygiene workers to promote healthy hygiene practices like hand washing and household water treatment campaigns. In Somaliland, International Medical Corps with support from UNICEF is implementing an emergency nutrition programme in Sool and Sanaag regions to mitigate the effects of drought and improve the nutrition status of children under the age of 5.
After several years of being unable to access Mogadishu, International Medical Corps has now returned to the city to provide critically needed health services. Two hospitals have recently closed in the Hodan District, which is home to a large population of extremely vulnerable internally displaced persons (IDPs).
In partnership with a Turkish NGO, we are providing primary and secondary health care at a hospital in Hodan District, Mogadishu; mobile clinic outreach services to underserved areas of Hodan District and training to both management and clinical local hospital and mobile clinic staff. The programme focuses heavily both on providing life-saving health services and building the capacity of health workers in Mogadishu to continue providing these services in the future.
