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Add to Preferred SourcesIOM, the UN Migration Agency, has started bringing health services to the people of Gobweyn and Bulla Gaduud – two towns in south-eastern Somalia that were recently liberated by the government.
For the past 27 years, war and conflict have made health care access difficult or impossible in many parts of the country. Now, these communities have access to vaccinations, malaria treatment, antenatal care for pregnant mothers, malnutrition screenings and referrals, among other essential health services.
In partnership with Jubaland State’s Ministry of Health (MoH), IOM supported the re-opening of Gobweyn Health Centre, and is providing mobile outreach clinics in Bulla Gaduud, Kham Kham and Yontoy villages.
Government forces have been taking back new areas like Bulla Gaduud and Gobweyn from armed non-state actors in recent months, which has, in turn, increased the need for health services. Aid agencies have hitherto been unable to reach these towns due to insecurity and the presence of armed groups in the surroundings. Upon re-establishing services, IOM and MoH clinical teams noted the challenges of high malnutrition rates and poor immunization coverage. With humanitarian services now available, it is expected that people from these villages, many of whom are currently residing in overcrowded settlements for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in far-away urban centres, will begin to return to their home communities.
This year IOM has expanded its primary healthcare programmes into hard-to-reach and largely inaccessible areas to meet dire and urgent medical care needs. In collaboration with the MoH, the Organization has just opened new health centres in Hosingo (Badhadhe district) and Bardhere (Gedo region) – towns that are isolated and surrounded by armed groups.
Original source: IOM
Published on 2 November 2018