IRIN – Galkayo Hospital in northern Somalia, once a large, fully equipped referral facility, has become a shadow of its former self since the collapse of the central government in 1991, according to medical staff.

“The hospital is for all practical purposes closed. We have nothing. It lacks basic equipment to treat even small injuries,” Abdullahi Hirsi Jestro, a doctor, told IRIN.

Jestro and other medical staff have started a campaign to re-open the hospital.

It is the only public health facility in north Galkayo, in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, he said, adding that the most needy were now unable to access medical care.

Read more – http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87905

IRIN – As conflict continues in Somalia, the main hospital in Mogadishu, the capital, lacks orthopedic specialists to handle the increasing number of patients with broken limbs, a doctor has said.

“Currently, the patients with the most serious injuries are mostly young; 30 of them require specialized treatment that is not available in the country,” Mohamed Yusuf, the director-general of Madina Hospital, told IRIN. “Since 2009, we have seen hundreds of patients requiring orthopedic treatment but very few of them can afford specialized treatment; 98 percent of the patients are too poor.”

Mogadishu has borne the brunt of the fighting in Somalia, which pits an opposition Islamist group against government troops. The country has been conflict-ridden since 1991 when President Siad Barre was ousted. Although a transitional government is in place, fighting continues in Mogadishu as well as in southern and central parts of the country.

Read more – http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87827

AfDB – After decades of interruption, Somalia re-established its relationship with the African Development Bank (AfDB) on Monday, 23 November 2009 with the signing  of a USD 2 million grant to provide financial and technical assistance to Public Financial Management.  The support to the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia comes from the Fragile States Facility (FSF) administrated by the Bank’s Fragile States Unit.

The grant will also help the country establish sound and transparent public financial systems and develop an appropriate legal framework for fiscal and monetary institutions as well as human and institutional capacity.

Read more – http://www.afdb.org/en/news-events/article/somalia-back-in-business-with-afdb-5415/

Aid from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reached 1.3 million Somalis in the war-wracked Horn of Africa nation last month, but funding shortfalls prevented the agency from assisting millions more in need, it was announced today.

Over 22,000 metric tons of food were distributed, but with less than half of funds needed received, WFP was forced to scale back its operations, making it unable to reach all 3 million Somalis with 48,000 metric tons of food than the agency had hoped to.

WFP urgently needs a nearly $200 million influx to allow it to feed 3.3 million Somalis through next April.

Over the past week, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) partnered with a local organization to distribute hundreds of hygiene kits, including soap and towels, to people living in a settlement for internally displaced persons (IDPs) outside of the war-battered capital, Mogadishu, which has experienced escalated fighting in recent months.

Read more – http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=32491&Cr=somali&Cr1=