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Somali Government and partners renew commitment to end preventable deaths of mothers and children
Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, congratulates Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed for prioritizing maternal and child healthMogadishu, 19 August 2014 – The Somali Federal Government, with support of three United Nations agencies and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), today launched two important initiatives and a report to ensure the health and well-being of mothers and children.
Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed said that the launch of Somalia’s national maternal and child health acceleration plan to improve maternal and child health, alongside the campaign on accelerated reduction of maternal mortality in Africa (CARMMA) and the State of the World’s Midwifery Report 2014 represented a milestone for the women and children of the country.
‘For too long we have failed to provide mothers and children with their basic rights to good health and good quality health care,” he said. “This Government is committed to ensuring that this will change. The children are the future of our nation and we must give them every possible assistance to have a good start in life.’
The maternal and child health acceleration plan, which is a result of the saving the lives of mothers and children initiative launched regionally at a high-level meeting last year by WHO, UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), to prioritize the health of women and children will be rolled out in several Somalia regions targeting more than a million children and women.
At the same time, the African Union’s CARMMA will employ advocacy at all levels to help Somalia progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality by three quarters between 1990 and 2015.
The event also included the launch of the State of the World’s Midwifery Report 2014, coordinated by UNFPA and WHO which provides important data on midwifery in 73 countries including Somalia.
During the launch in Mogadishu, Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, congratulated the Somali Government for prioritizing maternal and child health: “Their sustained efforts to reduce suffering and deaths among children and women have started yielding fruits and much more is expected in the coming months with the renewed commitment and engagement that we are all taking today,” he said.
“These are important initiatives – we must now make sure they are put into action and help to ensure that we see an end to preventable maternal mortality, newborn and child deaths – creating a solid foundation for the future.” Phillipe Lazzarini, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia told the audience which included Government and UN officials, NGOs, civil society and the media.
Somalia’s health sector has been largely destroyed by more than 20 years of war and neglect which has taken its toll on the population. An estimated one in five children dies before their fifth birthday with the main causes including pneumonia, diarrhoea and measles - as well as infections and other problems in the first month of life.
CARMMA was initiated by the African Union Commission in 2009 and 44 countries in Africa have now launched it.
“The launch of CARMMA will ensure that we see a strong health system and real commitment by all the authorities to prioritizing health and strengthen reproductive and emergency obstetric care services particularly in the most difficult to reach areas,” said Cheikh Cisse, UNFPA Somalia Representative.
“For too long, Somalia has been dominated by destruction and violence,” said Oscar Butragueno, UNICEF Somalia Officer in Charge. ”It is time to give the children a chance to survive and thrive and these campaigns will help them to have the best start in life.”
Related links
Read the press release in Somali
The State of the World’s Midwifery 2014. A Universal Pathway. A Woman's Right to Health
For more information, please contact:
UNICEF: Bismarck Swangin
+254 722 206883
Dowladda Soomaaliya iyo wada-hawlgalayaasheeda oo mar kale cusbooneysiiyey sida ay uga go’an tahay in ay joojiyaan dhimashada laga hortegi karo ee hooyooyinka iyo carruurta
Muqdisho, 19 Agoosto 2014 – Dowladda Federaalka Soomaaliya, oo ay taageerayaan saddex hay’adood oo kuwa Qaramada Midoobey ah iyo Urur-goboleedka IGAD, ayaa maanta daaha ka rogey laba hindise oo muhiim ah iyo warbixin si ay u hubiyaan caafimaadka iyo bedqabka hooyooyinka iyo dhallaanka.
Ra’iisul Wasaare Cabdiweli Sheekh Axmed ayaa sheegey in daah-rogidda Qorshaha Qaran ee Dardar-gelinta Caafimaadka Hooyada iyo Dhallaanka loogu talogaley in lagu sii wanaajiyo caafimaadka hooyada iyo dhallaanka, iyada oo ay barbar-socdaan Ololaha Dardargelinta Yareynta Dhimashada Hooyooyinka ee Afrika/Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) iyo Warbixinta Xaaladda Umulinta Hooyooyinka ee Dunida ee 2014 (the State of the World’s Midwifery Report 2014) ayaa ka dhigan guul u soo hoyatey haweenka iyo carruurta dalka.
‘Muddo dheer ayaa aanan ku guuleysan in aan hooyooyinka iyo carruurta siinno xuquuqdooda aasaasiga ah ee ay u leeyihiin caafimaad wanaagsan iyo daryeel caafimaad oo tayo wanaagsan leh,” ayaa uu yiri. “Dowladdan waxaa ka go’an in ay hubiso in arrintan ay is-beddesho. Carruurtu waa mustaqbalkii ummaddeenna waxaana waajib ah in aan si kasta oo suuragal ah aan gacan u siinno si ay nololoosha wanaag ugu bilaabaan.’
Qorshaha Dardargelinta MCH, oo ka dhashey hindisaha Badbaadinta Nolosha Hooyooyinka (U-babac-dhigidda Culeyska Jira)/Saving the Lives of Mothers and Children (Rising to the Challenge) oo si heer gobol ah daaha loogaga rogey shir heer sare ah oo sanadkii hore ay qabteen Ururka Caafimaadka Adduunka (WHO), Sanduuqa Qaramada Midoobey ee Carruurta (UNICEF) iyo Sanduuqa Qaramada Midoobey ee Dadweynaha (UNFPA), si ay mudnaan u siiyaan caafimaadka hooyada iyo dhallaanka ayaa laga bilaabi doonaa gobollo badan oo Soomaaliya ka mid ah iyada oo lagu beegsanayo in ka badan hal milyan oo carruur iyo haween ah.
Isla waqtigaa ayaa ololaha CARMMA ee Midowga Afrika waxaa uu arrintantan uga qareemeyn doonaa heerar kala duwan si uu Soomaaliya gacan uga siiyo in ay horumar ka gaarto xaqiijinta Yoolka Horumarka Kun-sanadka ee ah in dhimashada hooyooyinka la yareeyo afar-meeloodow saddex meel muddada u dhaxaysa sanadaha 1990 ilaa 2015ka.
Munaasabadda waxaa sidoo kale daaha looga rogey Warbixinta Xaaladda Umulinta Hooyooyinka ee Dunida ee 2014 (the State of the World’s Midwifery Report 2014), oo ay isku-soo-duween UNFPA iyo WHO oo bixisa xog muhiim ah oo ku saabsan umulinta haweenka ku nool 73 dal oo ay Soomaaliya ka mid tahay.
Intii ay socotey munaasabadda daah-rogga oo ka dhacdey Muqdisho, ayaa Dr Ala Alwan, Agaasime-goboleedka Xafiis-goboleedka WHO ee Gobolka Bariga Mediterranean-ka uu Dowladda Soomaaliya ugu hambalyeeyey mudnaanta ay siisey caafimaadka hooyada iyo dhallaanka: “Dadaalladooda ku aaddan yareynta silica iyo dhimashada carruurta iyo haweenka ayaa hadda uu mira-dhalkoodu bilowdey, waxaana wax kale oo badan laga sugayaa bilaha soo socda marka lagu xisaabtamo ballanqaadka iyo hawlgalka aan dhammaanteen maanta sameyneyno,” ayaa uu yiri.
“Kuwani waa hindisayaal muhiim ah – waa in aan hadda hubinaa in la dhaqangeliyo oo aan gacan ka geysanaa si loo hubiyo in ay meesha ka baxdo dhimashada laga hortegi karo ee hooyooyinka, dhimashada carruurta dhowaan dhashey iyo tan carruurta kale – taas oo aasaas adag u ah mustaqbalka.” Philippe Lazzarini, Madaxa Qaramada Midoobey ahna Isuduwaha Gargaarka Bani’aadamnimada ee Soomaaliya ayaa sidaa u sheegey dadkii dhegeysaneyey oo ay ka mid ahaayeen saraakiil ka kala socdey Dowladda iyo Qaramada Midoobey, NGO-yo, bulshada rayidka ah iyo saxaafadda.
Waaxdii caafimaadka ee Soomaaliya ayaa inta badan ku burburtey dagaallo socdey in ka badan 20 sano iyo dayacaad taas oo dhibaato weyn ay ka soo gaartey dadweynaha. Qiyaastii mid ka mid ah shantii carruur ah ayaa dhimanaya ka hor inta aanu shan jirsan iyada oo sababaha ugu waaweyn ee ay u dhimanayaana ay ka mid yihiin oof-wareen, shuban iyo jadeeco – iyo sidoo kale caabuqyo/cudurro iyo dhibaatooyin kale oo haleela bisha ugu horreysa noloshooda.
CARMMA waxaa sanadkii 2009kii bilaabey Guddiga Midowga Afrika waxaana hadda daaha ka rogtey 44 dal oo Afrika ka tirsan.
“Daah-rogidda CARMMA waxaa ay hubineysaa in la helo hannaan caafimaad oo xooggan iyo dadaal dhab ah oo ay sameeyaan dhammaan maamullada kaas oo ay mudnaan ku siinayaan caafimaadka ayna ku xoojinayaan adeegyada daryeelka taranka iyo xaaladaha degdegga ah ee uurreyda iyo umulaha ee degaannada uu gaaritaankoodu ugu dhib badan yahay,” ayaa uu yiri Cheikh Cisse, oo ah Wakiilka UNFPA Somalia.
“Muddo aad u dheer, ayaa Soomaaliya ay ku badnaayeen burbur iyo cunfi/rabshad,” ayaa uu yiri Oscar Butragueno, oo ah Sarkaalka Ka Ma’uulka ah UNICEF Somalia. “Waxaa la joogaa waqtigii carruurta la siin lahaa fursad ay ku badbaadaan/noolaadaan ayna ku baraaraan waxaana ay ololayaashan gacan ku siinayaan in ay carruurta ay noloshooda sida ugu wanaagsan ku bilaabaan.”
Wixii macluumaad dheeir ah, fadlan kala soo xiriir:
UNICEF: Bismarck Swangin+254 722 206883
Polio transmission ongoing in Somalia
Galkayo, Somalia, 22 July 2014 – Despite an ongoing intensive vaccination campaign, four new cases of polio have been confirmed in Somalia this year bringing the total number of those affected since the outbreak began in May 2013 to 198 – most of them children. UNICEF and WHO have warned that unless all children are vaccinated, the number of those affected will continue to rise.
The warning came at the start of the latest vaccination campaign in Puntland, north east Somalia, where all of this year’s cases were discovered in the remote Jariban district in Mudug region. Three of them are children under 10 years old and an adult aged 29 who subsequently died. None of them had been vaccinated against polio before. This current round of vaccinations will run until 25 July and will target close to half a million children under the age of 10 years in the outbreak area and eight surrounding districts.
“Responding to the polio outbreak is one of the top priorities of the UN and the humanitarian community at large,” said the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Philippe Lazzarini. “We need to continue supporting the Somali health authorities to achieve a polio-free Somalia.”
In May 2013, the first case of polio in six years was discovered in the country’s capital Mogadishu. At the time it was estimated that over half a million children under five living in the inaccessible areas had not been vaccinated.
“Somalia has made a lot of progress towards stopping polio transmission, with the support of UNICEF and WHO, but it needs the final push to be polio-free once again,” said Dr Ghulam Popal, WHO Somalia Representative who is in Galkayo to oversee the latest campaign implementation.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, more than 1.5 million children under five have been vaccinated along with 5.5 million over five years, including adults, in the accessible areas.
“It is a tragedy that so many Somali children have been paralysed by this virus and their lives ruined – when the vaccination is freely available,” said Sikander Khan, UNICEF Somalia Representative. “Polio is highly infectious and every child who has not been properly vaccinated against polio is at risk from paralysis or even death.”
The polio virus can be quickly transmitted through water or food contaminated with human waste from an infected person. Proper sanitation is one way to prevent it spreading. There is no cure for polio and the vaccine – which is just two drops in the mouth - is safe, effective and prevents paralysis. Children should be vaccinated several times to ensure they are protected for life and adults too can carry the virus.
Read the press release in Somali
For more information, please contact:
UNICEF: Swangin Bismarck
+254 722 206 883
WHO: Dr Abraham Mulugeta
+ 254 733 770192
