Flash quote by Dr Pitchou Kayembe, MSF Head Of Program in Somalia “In MSF-supported Bay Regional Hospital in Baidoa, children are still arriving critically ill with measles and the death toll is continuing to rise from a preventable disease. Our teams are witnessing the same tragedy every day in the measles isolation unit: children coming … Read more
When Faisa Idow went into labour with her first child, she sensed something was terribly wrong. The 23-year-old from a rural village in Somalia’s Bay region endured several agonising days of obstructed labour before being taken to a nearby town for an emergency caesarean section. After the delivery, Faisa noticed an unusual injury that caused … Read more
When Fatima Abdi Ali, 32, experienced life‑threatening complications in her seventh pregnancy, she and her husband travelled more than 125 kilometres, crossing from Ethiopia to reach Mudug Regional Hospital in Galkayo North. It was the nearest facility equipped for such an emergency. On arrival, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams performed an urgent caesarean … Read more
By Retsat Dazang: Mental Health Activity Manager, MSF Somalia The woman didn’t come to talk about her mind. She came because she hadn’t slept in weeks and her chest felt tight, “like a hand sitting here.” In our clinics across Somalia, this is the first sentence we hear most often, not “I need mental health … Read more
When Aisha* began haemorrhaging, experiencing heavy, potentially life-threatening bleeding, just ten days after giving birth to twins at home in Diinsoor district, her family feared the worst. The hospital where she had safely delivered her previous children was no longer operational. With limited healthcare available in their community, her husband urgently borrowed money and drove … Read more
Galkayo, Somalia– In a transformative step towards sustainability and improved healthcare delivery, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) recently upgraded the solar energy system at Mudug Regional Hospital in Galkayo, Somalia. Launched in October 2024, this ambitious initiative involved expanding and rehabilitating the hospital’s solar photovoltaic (PV) infrastructure, including the installation of advanced inverters, additional solar panels, … Read more
Many women and children in Baidoa, Somalia, have to undertake journeys of hundreds of miles to reach medical facilities. To make matters worse, insecurity and violence often lead to delays that exacerbate health conditions and tragically, sometimes even lead to death. “Seven months ago, my wife gave birth to twin boys. She experienced excessive bleeding … Read more
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reached the difficult decision to withdraw our services from Las Anod General Hospital, Sool region, located within the internationally-recognised borders of Somalia,* due to increased volatility and repeated security incidents which have impacted the safe delivery of medical care. Recurrent attacks on medical facilities and the level of extreme violence … Read more
Cholera outbreaks are occurring with increasing frequency, and lasting for longer, across Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. Tetiana Gaviuk, communications manager of the international medical organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) questions in this piece why the death toll from this preventable disease is rising. Cholera is an acute bacterial infection caused by ingesting food … Read more
As Somalia faces a severe drought and ongoing conflict, children of all ages have become increasingly vulnerable to contracting – and dying from – measles. Although the disease is entirely preventable, measles outbreaks of varying severity have become widespread across the country. MSF epidemiologist Douglas Lau explains how we can curb the endemic disease. What … Read more