(ERGO) – Four newly opened, fully staffed health centres in parts of Jubbaland state of Somalia are providing critical health care to communities in remote areas where they previously struggled to access treatment.
The centres in Jana-Abdalle, Bahdadhe, and Raskamboni in Lower Juba and Dollow in Gedo region are providing free outpatient services, vaccinations, maternal care, and general treatment to communities in these districts, as well as in other parts of the regions through mobile clinics.
A mobile clinic run to Badhadhe enabled Aisha Farah Muse, 60, to get back to herding her livestock after being off work due to a leg injury.
“It turns out it wasn’t a broken bone but a detached muscle. My knee moved out of place, shifting towards the ankle. The doctors fixed my leg, put the knee back in place, and applied a cast and bandage,” she said.
Aisha couldn’t afford to go to Kismayo for medical attention. She has 10 children to feed and since drought killed their 300 cows and 200 goats three years ago, she has struggled desperately to recover her livelihood.
“We have no money, we don’t have any income to tell you about now. We people are pastoralists, and livestock has no market. If we don’t find anything, we just sleep hungry at night,” she stated.
Maryan Abdi Budul, 45, took her children to the health centre opened in April in Jana Abdalle for free medical services including treatment and vaccinations for her five children.
Maryan was treated for malaria and a bladder infection. Her children got their first measles, polio and diphtheria vaccinations.
After a month of medication, she said she felt much better.
“I was told I had malaria and an infection. I was given a series of 10 injections and I took all the medicine prescribed,” she said. “I couldn’t control my urine and it was terrible losing that control.”
Being able to access free treatment and vaccines was important for Maryan. Travelling the 60 kilometres to Kismayo would have cost at least $100.
“We faced great difficulties getting treatment. You have to be hosted in a hotel or finding people who know you, relatives or your own children, to help you. Only after that can you go to a doctor. We are very relieved to have this centre,” she told Radio Ergo.
Maryan struggles with food insecurity, as her five-hectare farm has remained uncultivated since 2023 following severe flooding. She owes $400 to shops where a relative guarantees her credit as traders distrust her due to her lack of income.
The Jubbaland health ministry conducted needs assessments early last year, identifying areas like Jana Abdalle as suffering from poor roads and shortage or absence of medical facilities and resources.
The new five-room centre in Jana Abdalle employs nine staff including doctors and nurses.
The programme has been implemented by Jubbaland Ministry of Health, Vision Corps Initiative (VCI) and Core Group Partners Project, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
VCI officer Mohamed Ahmed Nur said the health centres operated 24 hours a day with trained nurses. They provided maternal health services, outpatient services, and administered all vaccinations on the ministry’s schedule.
