Somalia has experienced decades of conflict and along with the state it has a barely functional health care system. It comes as no surprise then that the Somalia ranks as amongst the highest child mortality rates in the world. Nearly 20 per cent of all children do not make it to their fifth birthday in Somalia and those that do face enormous challenges for both their development and growth.
Save the Children has been involved in Somalia for close to 40 years and has delivered life saving servicers to thousands of families and their children. ]
The security situation in Puntland located in the North East of the country has improved somewhat over the last few years and the aid agency has been working closely with Ministry of Health to improve the local health care system so that children have access to at least basic healthcare services.
Tropical cyclone
It is far from easy to gain access to Somalia to begin with, however access became even more difficult following a cyclone that affected the north east of the country. The storm caused flash flooding which left villages submerged and destroyed bridges which had the affect of cutting off vital supply routes. Essential drugs which were already in short supply became an acute problem now that that delivery has been hampered.
Recently a team from Save the Children’s visited Garowe, the capital of Garowe to strengthen the organisations partnerships in the regions. On their first attempt to gain access to the region, torrential rain had left the runway closed, leaving the aid workers disappointed and forcing them to return to Kenya and try again the following day.
The tropical storm affected the coastal communities who were left isolated as a result of flash flooding which made it much more difficult to access. Whilst there were a limited number of casualties the livelihoods of thousands of families have been disrupted as a result of the destruction of livestock and fishing boats.
The worst possible timing
There is never a great time to be hit by a storm however this one was particularly unfortunate having had the distinction of striking just a couple of days after Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines. The lack of information and images emanating from Somalia and the scale of destruction in the Philippines meant the former was under reported and therefore overlooked.
A state of emergency was declared in Puntland by the government following which international aid from Djibouti and Ethiopia began to arrive, currently the only two countries to have responded so far.
Save the Children and other aid agencies continue their efforts in supporting communities in areas they operate in with whatever resources are available despite the fact that delivering relief is far from straightforward.
