Mother in Somalia carried daughter to hospital nearly 90 km away for three days — The Independent
In Somalia, Halima Abdullahi Ibrahim carried her three-year-old daughter, Asho Hassan Abdi, for three days from their village to a hospital in Kismayo, covering nearly 90 kilometers. The girl’s body was swelling, and there was no medical care closer to her home. At the hospital, Asho was taken to a stabilization unit, where medics diagnosed edema, a symptom of severe acute malnutrition, The Independent reports.
Millions of children need treatment
According to an assessment by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, during the year through June 2027, around 1.92 million Somali children aged from six months to nearly five years will need or already need treatment for acute malnutrition. Of them, approximately 433,000 may have severe acute malnutrition, which poses the greatest risk to life.
More than half of the projected malnutrition cases are concentrated in the south of the country. There, communities face disease outbreaks, food shortages, and limited access to healthcare services, clean water, and sanitation. Expected El Niño-related flooding could force more families to leave their homes and further complicate access to assistance.
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Hospitals and humanitarian services are overstretched
According to Jubaland Health Minister Ismail Garas, in August the hospital where Asho was treated admitted 152 children with severe acute malnutrition; four of them died. At the same time, humanitarian organizations have fewer resources to respond to growing needs. As AP reported in August, the World Food Programme can provide only limited assistance despite rising needs.
UNICEF Representative in Somalia Sandra Lattouf said that children are dying from malnutrition and that diseases, including measles, are increasing the danger. She called for closer cooperation among community health workers, local leaders, authorities, and humanitarian organizations.
Displaced families lack assistance
In the Luglow settlement on the outskirts of Kismayo, many displaced families have not received humanitarian aid since 2023 because of a lack of funding, said Jubaland Commissioner for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons Ali Adan Ali. He also warned that flooding along the Juba River could force people to move to higher-lying Kismayo, increasing pressure on settlements, nutrition centers, and hospitals.
