The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Wednesday that it has launched a new project to reach nearly 900,000 people with life-saving interventions by 2024.
The WHO said the project is targeting people in Somalia who are still living with the impacts of extreme climate events such as floods and droughts.
Women walk through flood water after heavy rainfall in Mogadishu, Somalia, November 20, 2023. /CFP
"The project will also strengthen referral linkages between communities and health facilities to improve quality, access, and coverage of critical care. This includes in-patient treatment at stabilization centers for children with severe acute malnutrition with medical complications," the UN health agency said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
The WHO said the new project follows the completion of an earlier project that benefited more than 3 million people affected by drought and floods in Somalia with integrated health and nutrition services. "It targets 15 flood- and drought-affected districts across the country."
The WHO said it aims to mitigate the health impacts of recurrent climate shocks, food insecurity and disease outbreaks, especially cholera, while strengthening health system resilience.
According to the WHO, Somalia has an ongoing cholera outbreak, which has been made worse since the floods of December 2023, which destroyed sanitation facilities and caused further displacements.
Forecasts predict that the outbreak will continue due to the heavy Gu (April-to-June) rains, potentially leading to flash floods.
The WHO said it will also assist Somalia's Ministry of Health and Human Services in strengthening prevention, early detection and prompt response to disease outbreaks, including cholera, at the district level.
(Cover: A woman walks with her children, who fled amid drought, to build a makeshift shelter at a camp for the displaced people on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia, September 26, 2023. /CFP)