Nearly 30 years of conflict and instability have heavily marked Somalia’s recent history. Some gains are being made, but the country still faces many challenges ahead. 

Somalia’s health indicators, especially for women and children rank among the lowest in the world. 

Recently published statistics show that maternal mortality and deaths of children under five remain high, while female genital mutilation is still widespread. Prevalence of early marriage also contributes to high fertility rates. These issues are further exacerbated by cramped conditions in the country’s over 2 000 sites for internally displaced persons. 

An innovative partnership between WHO, Sweden and Somalia’s Ministry for Health was launched to address these and other persistent health problems. The partnership, which is borne out of a policy dialogue and a high-level mission by Sweden to Somalia in 2020, aims to create an independent Somali Public Health authority and to modernize the country’s health information management system. 

This collaboration between Sweden and WHO in Somalia was inspired by WHO’s 2019-2013 General Programme of Work to deliver impact at the country level. 

Improving health outcomes in Somalia

^{UHC High-Level mission in Somalia.}

Sweden’s funding initiatives and active collaboration in the country, supported by WHO, are focused on promoting equitable access to health care and sexual and reproductive health and rights. 

Sweden is working closely with WHO to support the establishment of an independent Somali public health authority: The National Institute of Health. This includes technical support from  The Public Health Agency of Sweden.  

“We strive to contribute to making the National Health Institute a centre of excellence. It is one of the priorities of WHO,” said Kyle DeFreitas, External Relations and Resource Mobilization Officer at WHO Somalia. 

“We will help build the capacities of the institute, which will enable Somalia to deal more effectively with public health issues into the future, including potential disease outbreaks and pandemics,” he added. 

Dr Abdifatah Diriye Ahmed, Executive Director of the National Health Institute, said the newly formed institution will be one of the most important and crucial steps towards establishing a strong health system in addition to the areas of equitable access and reproductive health and rights in Somalia. During the past three decades, the health system has been fragmented and has faced many challenges.

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