40-year-old Fadumo Mohamed resides in Horumar Village in Galkayo, Somalia, with her husband and six children. Like any mother, she was elated when she gave birth to her most recent child. However, the village had no health facilities and she was forced to make long trips to a facility far away to seek health and …
For 30-year-old Fadumo Hassan Jim’ale, the pain and disappointment that comes with losing a child is too familiar. Last year, the young mother lost her unborn baby during labor. After the loss of her child, Fadumo—who lives with her husband at Midnimo IDP Camp in Galkayo, Somalia—became more determined to take good care of her …
Though on May 28 of every year the world comes together to recognize Menstrual Hygiene Day, menstruation still remains a taboo subject in some parts of the world. In Somalia, most women are aware that menstruation is a normal process, but the topic is rarely openly discussed. In addition, a lack of education, sanitation infrastructure …
32-year-old Fadumo Mohamed is from Lower Shabelle, a region in southern Somalia, not far from the capital Mogadishu. Named after the river that farming communities have relied on for centuries, the area is a microcosm for the multi-layered crisis that has been battering Somalia and its people since the 1990s. The situation in Lower Shabelle …
Nurto from Baidoa in Somalia is only 30 years old—but already on the verge of giving up. Conflict has driven her from her home, she is in pain and her father’s death is weighing heavily on her. She will get through this, but she doesn’t know that yet. Meanwhile, 28-year-old Hakumo, whose childhood in southwestern …
It’s not easy being a woman in Somalia. Life is shaped by overwhelming challenges beyond her control: severe drought, depleted crops, protracted conflict, toxic gender norms, inadequate education for girls and much more. Risking her life in childbirth should not be one more worry on that list—which is why we’re working to expand lifesaving maternal …
Unpredictable rainfall patterns across Somalia often result in drought and floods, leaving the population without access to safe drinking water. A quarter-century of war and conflict has left Somalia’s pre-war water infrastructure and once-expansive irrigation and canal systems in disrepair. With only two perennial rivers, Somalia’s agricultural riverine communities are increasingly affected by extremes of …
To commemorate International Women’s Day on March 8, International Medical Corps held awareness events in Mogadishu, as well as the Jowhar, Galkayo South, Abduwaq and Baidoa districts of Somalia, where our teams engaged community members to address some of the challenges faced by women and to help identify possible solutions. Issues discussed across the five …
The unfortunate myth that breast milk alone is not enough for a child’s nutritional needs is strongly embedded within Somalian society. As a result, in a nation where many mothers and children don’t have access to the healthcare and education needed to ensure a healthy pregnancy and infanthood, mothers often supplement breast milk with infant …
Meet Anfa, an 18-year-old Somali woman who recently gave birth to her first child through a treacherous journey to new motherhood. Anfa’s home of Somalia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, with one out of 12 women dying from pregnancy-related complications—often because she lacks access to maternal health care. Here, …