Swedish Ambassador, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO joint UHC High-Level mission to Hargeisa and Garowe

1 February 2021 - Nearly 30 years of conflict and instability have heavily marked Somalia’s recent history. Some gains are being made, but the country still faces many challenges ahead.

Somalia’s health indicators, especially for women and children rank among the lowest in the world.

Recently published statistics show that maternal mortality and deaths of children under five remain high, while female genital mutilation is still widespread. Prevalence of early marriage also contributes to high fertility rates. These issues are further exacerbated by cramped conditions in the country’s over 2 000 sites for internally displaced persons.

An innovative partnership between WHO, Sweden and Somalia’s Ministry for Health was launched to address these and other persistent health problems. The partnership, which is borne out of a policy dialogue and a high-level mission by Sweden to Somalia in 2020, aims to create an independent Somali Public Health authority and to modernize the country’s health information management system.

This collaboration between Sweden and WHO in Somalia was inspired by WHO’s 2019-2013 General Programme of Work to deliver impact at the country level.

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Mogadishu, 21 January 2021 – On 23 December 2020, the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Somalia and World Health Organization (WHO) Somalia country office signed a €5 million multi-year contribution agreement for a project to prevent further spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and to strengthen the health systems in the country.

The project, titled ‘Emergency operational response to COVID-19 in Somalia to support the prevention of large-scale community spread through public health systems strengthening’ aims to contain and suppress the COVID-19 epidemic, and other disease outbreaks, in locations where signs of circulation are indicated by the most recent surveys. This will prevent large-scale community transmission and the further spread and/or resurgence of the virus through the strengthening of the health systems in the country.

“WHO remains grateful for this generous contribution from the EU. The funds from this multi-year agreement will support and sustain our ongoing public health interventions for a longer period and will also bring to scale the much-needed public health action to prevent community spread of COVID-19 in one of the most fragile and vulnerable settings”, said Dr Mamunur Rahman Malik, WHO Representative for Somalia.

“The impact of these public health interventions funded by the EU are likely to result in saving lives and paving the way for the health systems to recover stronger and better from COVID-19. We are very thankful to the EU for their collaboration and I am sure this support will be catalytic in mitigating the adverse impact of COVID-19 on fragile health systems.”

We are grateful for the extraordinary effort that WHO has made throughout the COVID-19 period. Bridging the Ministry of Health and the international community, WHO has made us work as a team against this important challenge. In the path towards a prosperous and stable Somalia, COVID-19 should be seen as an opportunity to develop better public services and make Federal and State institutions work together in a more coordinated way,” said Nicolás Berlanga Martínez, EU Ambassador to Somalia.

WHO and the EU Delegation to Somalia will continue to collaborate closely in the future, alongside the health authorities, in their joint efforts to reach and support the most vulnerable populations across the country with essential and life-saving health services.

Note to Editors

This new and vital multi-year partnership stems from the Bilateral Technical Coordination Mechanism previously established between WHO Somalia and the EU Delegation to Somalia, under the leadership of the EU Ambassador and WHO Representative. The purpose of this mechanism is to strengthen operational response capacities for COVID-19 and other health emergencies, whereby WHO has been providing technical support and advice to EU activities, risk communications and awareness-raising initiatives related to COVID-19 to ensure alignment with WHO's technical principles and strategies, while the EU has, among other things, been providing logistical and flight support to WHO for moving critical health equipment, supplies, medicines and samples throughout the country, both during the flight and travel bans, and after these were lifted.

Since its inception in April 2020, this mechanism has helped to strengthen operational response activities for health emergencies and the COVID-19 response across Somalia, including by the EU commissioning numerous flights at the request of WHO to airlift critical equipment, supplies, medicines and disease samples throughout the country, as well as to and from Kenya – supplies to cover over 610 000 persons, including patients and frontline health workers.

As part of this new partnership, WHO, the Federal and State health authorities and the EU will therefore combine efforts to improve the living conditions, well-being and safety of the Somali population, by focusing activities on:

• improving monitoring and screening for the spread of COVID-19;
• reaching vulnerable populations with risk communication and health promotion messages;
• establishing an integrated disease surveillance and response system; and
• guaranteeing access to quality public health services through appropriate measures in support of the health system, including by conducting a service availability readiness assessment (SARA) survey, strengthening laboratory capacities, procuring and pre-positioning vital medical equipment and supplies, training health care workers on the management of priority epidemic-prone diseases and severe acute malnutrition with medical complications, and undertaking vaccination campaigns, including amongst high-risk populations.

Additionally, WHO Somalia received timely support from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) in January 2020, in the form of US$ 1.9 million for WHO’s COVID-19 preparedness and response operations in Somalia.

Related links

WHO and EU unite to fight COVID-19 in Somalia

EU and WHO unite to deliver critical life-saving supplies to flood-affected areas in Somalia

European Union and WHO Somalia deliver more emergency hospital supplies

EU and WHO deliver emergency life-saving supplies to flood-affected areas in Somalia

Responding to Cyclone Gati in Puntland: immediate assistance needed for prevention of waterborne diseases

For further information, please contact:

Mr Kyle DeFreitas

External Relations & Resource Mobilization Officer

WHO Somalia

Mob: +254-782-501-324

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Ms. Fouzia Bano

Communications Officer

WHO Somalia

Mob: +252-619-235-880

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mr Vicente Sellés

Programme Manager/Liaison Officer

Delegation of the European Union to the Federal Republic of Somalia

Mob: +252-619-505-392

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mr Hassan Santur

Strategic Communications Specialist

Delegation of the European Union to the Federal Republic of Somalia

Mob: +254-714-090-359 or +252-611-488-757

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Health for all is Somalia’s answer to COVID-19 and future threats to health

12 January 2021 - 

Somalia’s experience in addressing COVID-19 illustrates how investing in universal health coverage sets a strong foundation for heath emergency preparedness and response. The Government is working to ensure that people can access quality health care without experiencing financial hardship. Learn how Somalia is working to protect its population from COVID-19 and future health threats.  

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7 January 2021 – After Cyclone Gati struck Puntland State of Somalia on 22 November 2020, heavy rains and floods washed away homes, livestock, crops, and fishing boats. In its wake, the cyclone destroyed health facilities and safe sanitation systems in the area, leaving thousands of vulnerable people exposed without any shelter and livelihoods, as it hit districts in the midst of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, further affecting communities’ economic recovery.

Twenty-nine-year-old Aamino Ahmed and her family were among the people who were forced to flee to internally displaced people (IDP) camps following the cyclone. Along with her husband and nine children, Aamino moved to the Isnino IDP camp in Bossaso, where they are currently struggling to have a means to earn a living and access to basic needs like food, water, sanitation and health care, which have been totally destroyed.

Understanding urgent needs of afflicted populations

By the end of December, the storm had killed 9 people and over 63 000 livestock (sheep and goats), and affected around 183 000 people.

Overall, the districts affected most by the cyclone include Alula, Benderbayla, Bosasso, Iskushuban and Qandala in Puntland, as well as Erigavo and Laasqoray in Somaliland. In these locations, afflicted communities, including families like those of Aamino Ahmed’s, and local authorities have appealed for support and increased interventions to support livelihoods, particularly targeting affected nomadic pastoralists, fishermen and traders. They have also requested for support in the repair of damaged infrastructure and basic social amenities such as schools, health facilities and water points.

In efforts to understand the humanitarian impact of Cyclone Gati and determine the most urgent needs of the population, the Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Agency (HADMA) and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) collaborated with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other humanitarian agencies to conduct a rapid inter-agency assessment in the affected areas, from 24-30 November 2020. The WHO team comprised health experts knowledgeable with the localities, and included regional polio officers, district polio officers and public health emergency officers.

The assessment also determined the available resources and capacities within districts affected, and will guide an effective response to the storm. The most immediate humanitarian needs of affected populations include food, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), emergency shelter and the prevention of waterborne, vector-borne and communicable diseases. These include cholera, malaria, dysentery, diarrhoea, and skin diseases due to families being inundated with contaminated water. Stagnant water in some areas also threatens to serve as ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The situation is already resulting in an increase in malnutrition due to lost livelihoods and assets, and a potential increase in COVID-19 and other airborne diseases due to crowded living conditions.

Support provided so far

Since the cyclone struck, humanitarian partners and Somali authorities reached over 78 000 affected people with relief assistance as of 13 December. This support ranged from food, emergency shelter, nutrition, health, protection, Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) services and WASH interventions.

Partners and organizations in the food security, livelihood and health and nutrition clusters have reached an estimated 72 000 affected people among those targeted. Shelter and WASH cluster partners have reached 25 000 and 38 000 people respectively, while the CCCM cluster is assisting about 26 000 people affected by the cyclone floods in Bossaso, one of the worst-hit cities.

As part of the response to the storm, on 10 December 2020, the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Somalia commissioned a special flight at the request of the WHO in Somalia to airlift 3.1 tonnes of life-saving medicine and other emergency hospital supplies to Garowe. This joint operation remains part of the bilateral technical coordination mechanism established between WHO and the EU in Somalia, which aims to strengthen operational response activities, including for COVID-19.

The supplies, which were handed over to the Ministry of Health on 14 December 2020 for further distribution to communities in need, include 10 inter-agency emergency health kits containing various medicines for providing primary health care services, 11 cholera treatment modules, 2 outbreak investigation kits, 100 malaria testing kits. These materials should cover the medical needs of 2200 people over a period of three months and will be adequate in the management of waterborne and vector-borne diseases among 10 000 people for 3 months.

Humanitarian response plans to avert further suffering

Further to the damage already caused, there are additional potential risks of more rainfall and flooding; contamination of water; and severe malnutrition. With the affected people having no access to basic health care needs, and limited sanitation, this could result in an increase in diseases such as vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, and waterborne diseases, and diarrhoea.

Some of Aamino’s family members, for instance, have already been suffering from diarrhoea as a result of consuming unsafe water after the cyclone destroyed water systems. In efforts to support families like Aamino’s, and to stop the spread of waterborne and vector-borne diseases, WHO will provide medical supplies for the management of diseases spread by contaminated water; establish a water quality surveillance system in cyclone-affected districts; and support sample collection and analysis for alerts of epidemic-prone diseases reported in affected districts. WHO will also support the deployment of 2 integrated emergency response teams (IERTs) for 4 weeks for the cyclone response. As additional support, the organization plans to deploy 9 district-based rapid response teams (RRTs) and 300 community health workers (CHWs) that were deployed to support COVID-19 activities in the cyclone-affected districts.

WHO will also provide airtime to health facilities in cyclone affected districts to submit timely reports for epidemic-prone diseases reported in the affected districts through the early warning and response network (EWARN) to strengthen surveillance, timely detection and response to alerts. The organization will further reinforce the coordination, supervision and surveillance activities through the existing health system, in cooperation with the health, WASH and nutrition cluster partners. Additionally, WHO will conduct fogging in 9000 households in Somaliland and Puntland to prevent the spread of malaria and other vector-borne diseases.

As long-term measures to provide sustainable solutions to emergencies, WHO will support the building of resilient health systems that can cope with the multiple hazards and be able to protect vulnerable communities from health emergencies. This will be done through capacity building of existing health workforce, strengthening coordination and leadership with affected communities and their leaders, and other clusters.

In response to the cyclone, humanitarian partners are collaborating with the Government to reach 101 000 people (about 84% of those affected by the cyclone) and are finalizing a response plan that outlines additional financial support they need to avert any additional suffering in the cyclone-affected areas. Overall, WHO requires US$ 1.23 m to continue to implement a timely intervention to prevent deaths and help Somalia overcome the negative consequences of the cyclone.