Mogadishu – The importance of all Somalis being able to access health care was highlighted today at a celebration to mark the recent Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day, organized by the United Nations and Somalia’s Ministry of Health and Human Services, along with a special call for improved access to healthcare for vulnerable communities in Somalia.
“Universal Health Coverage Day reminds us that everyone is entitled to the right to health, which is codified in the Federal Government of Somalia’s Provisional Constitution,” said the Chief of the Human Rights Protection Group at the UN Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS), Kirsten Young.
“Today we are thrilled to share some of what we have been doing with partners such as the National Museum of Somalia, the Somali Academy of Sciences and Arts and health rights advocates and practitioners as well as artists and civil society – you see how diverse the room is, this is about inclusivity” added Ms. Young, who also serves as the Representative to Somalia of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The UN official was addressing a gathering made up of ministry officials, physicians, civil society representatives and UN agency officials at the National Museum of Somalia. The theme of the UHC Day observance was ‘Unaffordable Health Costs.’
Additional funding
In his remarks at the event, the Head of Health Governance at the Ministry of Health and Human Services, Dr. Abdullahi Nour Omar (known as Dr. Guraash), said Somalia currently has approximately 1,261 health facilities, but warned of possible closure of some facilities due to the ongoing funding gaps.
To mitigate these challenges, he said, the government plans to seek additional funding from domestic revenues and to revive the National Health Insurance Authority to provide free healthcare to citizens, although this will not materialise in the short term.
“As you know, the Ministry recently Established the National Health Insurance Authority, even though it has not been passed and made legal, there are at least ongoing efforts to revive this critical institution because that institution will provide services to every Somali who cannot afford healthcare,” the government official sad.
Index ranking
Somalia has experienced insecurity, conflict and extreme weather crises for decades, and COVID-19 and the resulting disruption of essential health services has exacerbated many determinants of poor health outcomes.
According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recently-published UHC monitoring report, the UHC service coverage index for Somalia is now estimated at 30 out of 100, improved from 27 in the previous report.
To help address the country’s health care challenges, the Somali health authorities, the National Museum, SIMAD University, WHO and UNTMIS are collaborating to ensure healthcare information is readily available. This effort includes developing clear public messaging about the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of healthcare services to deal with Somalia’s health challenges in the wake of decades of conflict and humanitarian crises.
“We did not just meet here this morning to celebrate Universal Health Coverage Day, but to highlight the numerous health challenges the Somali community faces, which cannot all be addressed in a day, but we can ask ourselves what can we address today, tomorrow, this year, and what have we have achieved,” said one of the civil society representatives present, the Coordinator of Brain Story Organization Somalia, a local non-profit organization focused on mental health, Dr. Aisha Haji.
“So the bare minimum,” she continued, “is to see what we can do to help alleviate the populations’ suffering. My recommendations to government, international partners, and civil society is to invest in strong public health systems, to support financing mechanisms and to protect the most vulnerable.”
In addition to today’s event, as part of its observance in the lead-up to the day, the UN in Somalia organised a three-day training in October for 16 health professionals and service providers in Mogadishu. It focused on strengthening participants’ understanding of the right to health, its application to different groups, and the international, regional, and national legal frameworks supporting health rights.
UHC Day was established by a UN General Assembly resolution urging countries to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage on 12 December 2012, with the aim of raising awareness of the need for strong and resilient health systems and universal health coverage.
