Mogadishu, Somalia, May 27 (AP)—The distressing cries of children reverberate from the ward designated for the severely malnourished at Banadir Hospital. In one of the beds lay 1-year-old Maka’il Mohamed, his chest being pressed by doctors in a last-ditch effort to encourage his breathing.
His father, Mohamed Ma’ow, brought him to the hospital in Somalia’s capital too late, hoping to treat the complications stemming from malnutrition. Heartbreakingly, Maka’il didn’t survive, leaving Ma’ow overwhelmed with disbelief, questioning the doctor, “Are you certain? Did he really die?”
The tragedy at Banadir Hospital sheds light on the wider crisis in Somalia, where countless parents struggle to feed their children. This issue is exacerbated by health workers witnessing a substantial decline in U.S. financial assistance under the Trump administration, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars disappearing.
Historically, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) provided about 65% of Somalia’s foreign aid. Now, under its dismantlement, essential centers for treating hunger across the nation are forced to close, leaving a profound gap in an already fragile healthcare system burdened by decades of insecurity.
Save the Children, the leading NGO providing health and nutrition services to Somali children, expressed concern that by June the lives of 55,000 children will be jeopardized due to the closure of 121 nutrition centers it can no longer sustain. This funding cut projects an 11% increase in severely malnourished children compared to last year.
Somalia has perpetually faced food scarcity due to climate impacts like drought. Currently, both aid groups and citizens approach the imminent threat of a catastrophe with trepidation.
In a statement to state TV, former Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalin highlighted that USAID had contributed $1 billion in funding for Somalia in fiscal year 2023, with expectations mirroring that figure for 2024. However, the majority of that aid is now absent.
Despite reassurances from a U.S. State Department spokesperson about the active presence of lifesaving USAID humanitarian assistance programs including food and nutrition for children, uncertainty prevails among aid workers regarding the specific programs classified as lifesaving and clarity on funding continuation post-July 1.
CARE, an aid organization, has sounded the alarm that by June, 4.6 million people in Somalia are anticipated to face severe hunger, a significant increase from earlier forecasts anticipating less dire circumstances before the funding cuts.
The effects reverberate from rural sectors to Mogadishu, where over 800,000 displaced individuals seek refuge, often settling in ubiquitous camps around the city suburbs. However, many of these meal centers are now closed, leaving individuals like Ma’ow, a tailor struggling to provide even three meals a day for his family of six, in dire straits.
Maka’il’s deterioration was mainly attributed to malnutrition, further aggravated by his mother’s inability to provide breastmilk and the family’s repeated but futile hospital visits.
The nutrition support at Banadir Hospital that the Ma’ow family relied on—overseen by Alight Africa, a partner with UNICEF—has succumbed to the funding void, leaving numerous children malnourished and healthcare workers with slashed salaries.
Simon Karanja, a regional UNICEF official, emphasized that funding deficiencies have incapacitated partners from delivering crucial support, therapeutic supplies, and supplemental nutrition in a country where 15% of children are acutely malnourished.
Alight Africa, forced to close all nutrition centers in several Mogadishu districts, revealed heartbreaking outcomes, “tragically, the deaths of some children,” indicates Said Abdullahi Hassan, a project supervisor.
Dr. Mohamed Jama, overseeing treating malnourished children at Banadir Hospital, observed over 500 child admissions between April and May. Such patient surges typically align with major crises like drought, making the current situation alarming and unprecedented.
In the face of confusion and desperation, residents like Fadumo Ali Adawe, a mother of five facing the closure of her local nutrition center and worried for her 3-year-old malnourished daughter, resonate with helplessness.
Within these now-defunct centers, remains of empty food packages scatter the premises under the shadow of USAID posters still adorning the walls. (AP) NSA NSA
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