GALKACYO, Somalia – In a desperate bid to save her life and that of her unborn child, Fadumo Abdi Ali, a pregnant woman from a remote area near the Ethiopian border, walked 120 kilometers with her husband to reach the Galkacyo Regional Hospital in Mudug.
Doctors with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) at the facility identified her condition as life-threatening and performed an immediate emergency Caesarean section. The intervention was successful, resulting in the birth of a healthy baby.
Faadumo’s grueling trek underscores a severe healthcare crisis in the Mudug region, which has been devastated by prolonged conflict and drought. Essential medical services are scarce, forcing countless mothers and children to undertake perilous, long-distance journeys to seek care. Many others never reach help at all.
In response, MSF and the Puntland Ministry of Health are providing critical services, including maternal and child healthcare, emergency interventions, and tuberculosis treatment.
However, the humanitarian situation is deteriorating. A severe lack of food aid is exacerbating health vulnerabilities. A recent study warns that 3.4 million people in Somalia currently face acute food insecurity, a number projected to climb to 4.4 million by the end of the year.
