Somalia

Background
Somalia, a country of 10.7 million on east Africa’s Indian Ocean coast, was created in 1960 by the merger of British- and Italian-occupied territories. Since then, its development has been hindered by territorial claims on Somali-inhabited areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti. Somalia has not had a stable government since the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991. In 2004, however, rival warlords and politicians signed a peace agreement and agreed to form a transitional federal government in exile, giving Somalis cause for hope. But when the newly appointed officials began moving their operations to Somalia, fighting erupted between warlords, who disagreed over where the new government should reside. In 2006, the Islamic Courts joined the struggle for power in the country and occupied key areas, including the capital, Mogadishu.

Events in recent months have hit Somalia’s beleaguered civilian population hard. Already suffering from the effects of an ongoing drought and recent widespread flooding, the fight for political power between militias of the Islamic Courts and transitional federal government forces supported by Ethiopian troops have caused the displacement of 750,000 people, according to a recent United Nations report. The majority of those forced from their homes are now living in makeshift camps within Somalia, where they have no means to support themselves and inadequate access to supplies and services. Because of the fighting, extreme weather, and lack of jobs, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that some 3.6 million Somalis—about a third of the country—will be in need of international assistance.

What IMC Is Doing
IMC's commitment to the people of Somalia began in 1991, when it was the first American nongovernmental organization to arrive in war-torn Mogadishu following the overthrow of Barre. Since then, IMC staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to implement a range of health care and nutrition programs in a country where clan rivalry, cyclical droughts, and a heavy burden of disease present ongoing perils to the population.

IMC is committed to strengthening the capacity of local health care providers through ongoing training programs to prevent malnutrition, as well as malaria and other epidemic and endemic diseases. IMC medical teams work closely with local community leaders to provide education on disease prevention and public health issues in a culturally appropriate manner. Among other things, IMC:

• Supports 129 health clinics in the Bay, Hiraan and Bakool regions of south central Somalia, addressing the health needs of more than 800,000 people;
• Provides health care services in maternal and child health clinics in the Bakool and Hiraan regions;
• Runs seven supplementary feeding programs and 44 health posts, and has enrolled over 4,800 malnourished children into its supplementary feeding programs;
• Treated scores of women with obstetric emergencies at the Huddur care center in Bakool; and
• Provided refresher and on-the-job training in the management of obstetric complications to midwives, and in safe motherhood interventions to traditional birth attendants and auxiliary midwives in Bakool.

IMC will continue to assist the people of Somalia, providing basic emergency obstetric care for women and implementing health, nutrition, and livelihood projects aimed at restoring communities throughout the country to self-reliance.