Country Information


Somalia
 
HIV prevalence 15-49, 2007/2008 0.5%
Tuberculosis death rate 120/100,000 population
Malaria death rate (children under 5) 373/100,000 population
 
   
             
     
  Somalia, a nation of 10 million people located on the strategically important Horn of Africa, fractured badly in the wake of a 1990 coup. The ensuing civil war created a humanitarian crisis as various warlords and their clan-based militia struggled for control of the country and the capital city of Mogadishu. Despite the establishment of a transitional government in 2004, the country continues to face civil strife with the emergence of struggles with Islamists from the south, who have seized control in towns and cities.

HIV/AIDS has not yet become a major crisis for Somalia, as UNAIDS estimated that in 2001 only one percent of Somali adults were HIV-positive. Malaria is endemic year-round throughout Somalia, and resistance to chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine has been reported to WHO. The malaria death rate in Somalia is 373 per 100,000 for children under five, and 81 per 100,000 for all ages. The tuberculosis death rate is substantially higher than in most of sub-Saharan Africa at 117 per 100,000 for all ages.

Sources: BBC News country profile, BBC News, 1-29-2004, World Bank, WHO travel guide, Somaliland Net (reprint of Jeffrey Herbst article), United Nations Statistics Division

 
           
             
  Dr. Ali Khalif Galaydh, The Somali Prime Minister, outlined his country's health policy this way:

Like any other government ministry, most of the buildings of the ministry of health, as well as the hospitals were destroyed during the last 10 years of civil war. Rehabilitating those hospitals and buildings is a main priority. However, in order to build a strong health system, we are going to adopt a policy that promotes environmental health and controls communicable diseases. To those ends we will carryout the following activities:

  • Build a primary health care system that gives special importance to disease prevention and control, child and maternal health, family planning and nutrition.
  • In line with its decentralization and federalism policy, the government will develop national health standards, but will decentralize the delivery of health services.
  • In line with its “poor-centred” policy, the government will retain enough powers to ensure that health facilities in rural centres and poorer regions meet national standards.

Source: Statement at the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, Brussels, 15 May 2001

 
           
             
 
Total population. mid-2009 9.1 (millions)
HIV prevalence 15-49, 2007/2008 0.5%
Tuberculosis death rate 120/100,000 population
Prevalence of tuberculosis per 100,000 population, 2000 721
Prevalence of tuberculosis per 100,000 population, 2004 673
% Tuberculosis detection rate under DOTS, 2001 37
% Tuberculosis detection rate under DOTS, 2004 45
% Tuberculosis treatment success rate under DOTS, 2000 83
% Tuberculosis treatment success rate under DOTS, 2003 90
Malaria death rate (children under 5) 373/100,000 population
Life expectancy at birth 50 years
Infant mortality rate 111/1,000 live births
Total fertility rate 6.7 per woman
Crude birth rate 45/1,000 population
Crude death rate 15/1,000 population
Adult male literacy level 50% (pct. 15+ literate)
Adult female literacy level 26% (pct. 15+ literate)
Contraceptive prevalence rate, modern methods 1% of women in union
Estimated number of people living with HIV: Adults and Children, 2005 44,000
Estimated number of people living with HIV: Adults (15+), 2005 40,000
Estimated number of people living with HIV: Women (15+), 2005 23,000
Estimated number of people living with HIV: Children (0-14), 2005 4,500
Estimated number of AIDS deaths: Adults and children, 2005 4,100
Estimated number of orphans due to AIDS: Children (0-17), 2005 23,000

Demographic data contained in this section was obtained from the following sources: The Population Reference Bureau’s 2009 World Population Data Sheet was used for total population, life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, fertility, birth rate, death rate, % of married women 15-49 using modern methods of contraception, % of population 15-49 with HIV/AIDS in 2007/2008, and the GNI PPP per capita (2008). Literacy rates were found in the Population Reference Bureau’s publication 2005 Women of Our World. HIV prevalence data for 2001 and 2003 was obtained from the UNAIDS Barcelona 2002 report; HIV prevalence and orphan data for 2005 was obtained from the UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2006. Data on the % women who have discussed AIDS prevention with their husband or partner can be found in ORC Macro and USAID’s Women’s Lives and Experiences: Changes in the Past Ten Years (Research Findings from the Demographic and Health Surveys). Childhood malaria mortality data was accessed in 2003 from the United Nations Statistics Divisions’ Millennium Indicators. Tuberculosis data was obtained from the United Nations Statistics Division’s Millennium Indicators: MDGInfo 2006. In some cases information was unavailable.

  
           
             
  Most of the hospitals and other buildings of the ministry of health were destroyed during the civil war, and rebuilding these facilities is a priority of donor organizations and Somalia's government. Major hospitals that are in operation include:
  • Chisimayu Hospital, Chisimayu (alternate spelling: Kismayo)
  • Mudug Regional Hospital, Galcaio (alternate spelling: Gaalkayo)
  • Madina Hospital in Mogadishu, which was the only one of four hospitals in the capital city to avoid destruction in the civil war

  
           
             
 

Amoud University, College of Medicine and Allied Health

Amoud University is not truly a research facility -- indeed none exists in the country today. The University is included here because its College of Medicine and Medical Sciences is offers the best hope for a research institution in the country. It was established as a result of the need to train professionals to meet the growing need for educators and other professionals. It is the first institution of higher education established post-civil war in Somalia and is committed to train all Somalis with necessary qualifications, without consideration of their political affiliation. The goal of the College of Medicine and Medical Science is to share in the development and improvement of quality health services in Awdal Region and throught out Somalia. In pursuing this goal, the college is deeply involved in community services, as well as instructional activities.

Source: Amoud University College of Medicine and Allied Health

 
           
             
 

Entity

Project Title

Diseases

Primary Category

Secondary Category
International Global Drug Facility (GDF) Tuberculosis General  
  Somalia is a country approved for support by the Global Drug Facility (GDF), an initiative of the Global Partnership to Stop TB. The GDF provides...

International GFATM Tuberculosis,Malaria General  
  The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) approved a second round grant for about $8.9 million in first- and second-year...

NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres Tuberculosis General  
  MSF runs a TB program at Chisimayu Hospital in the southern town of Chisimayu, and it has supported the renovation of Mudug Regional...

 
           
             
 
  1. In its fourth round of funding the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) approved a grant for about $10 million over 2 years to fight HIV/AIDS in Somalia. The grant agreement has not yet been signed.

    Source: GFATM

 
           


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