The two hospitals, formerly funded by MSF, used to provide free medical services to residents, but were closed eight months ago due to lack of funds.
“We used to take our children and pregnant women to these hospitals for free, but now there are no other hospitals that are giving free medication,” Hodan Hasan, a mother of several children, told Radio Ergo’s local reporter in Mogadishu.
Another resident, Mustafa Aden, said there was an urgent need to reopen the hospitals as most people could not afford private treatment. “I have five children and they used to get free medical services from these hospitals…even my wife used to get medicines from there,” he said.
Ahmed Abdulle Afrah, the district’s new chairman, said his administration did not have enough money to reopen the hospitals, but asked for assistance from the business community and aid agencies.
