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Delivering Hope: Mobile Health Teams Deployed in Remote Somalia

For many communities in remote areas of Somalia, access to healthcare is a constant struggle. Health facilities are few and far between and can mean travelling for hundreds of kilometres to seek treatment. Conflict, clan clashes and the devastating effects of climate disasters – droughts and floods – make the situation worse. They drive displacement, make food and water hard to come making a lot of people sick. 

In September 2024, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Somalia is partnering with the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) to run five mobile clinics in across Somalia.

An SRCS nurse immunizes a child in Xaaro village
@ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed

An Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI) auxiliary nurse with the SRCS team, immunizes a child during a Somali Red Crescent Society mobile health unit visit to Xaaro, a remote village in the Mudug region. Families here face challenges accessing health services, often traveling 70 km to the nearest clinic. Even then, essential vaccines may be unavailable due to cold chain issues, forcing some families to journey up to 200 km to Gaalkacyo.

A child at the triage, getting his arm measurements taken.
@ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed

Malnutrition is a growing threat to children in remote villages where families, already struggling with food shortages, take in relatives fleeing conflict and drought. Food insecurity in Somalia is expected to worsen, with forecasts of below-average rainfall by year’s end.

According to the September IPC analysis, the number of people facing crisis levels of hunger (IPC3 and above) is projected to rise by 22% to 4.4 million due to below average anticipated Deyr rains (October -December). The SRCS mobile health clinics offers vital healthcare services, including EPI, OPD, and maternal health services, in these villages. The mobile teams complement the 10 SRCS clinics that provide nutrition services, such as OTP and TSFP.

Children during registration.
@ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed

This year, the ICRC launched five mobile clinics to improve healthcare access for families in remote areas affected by conflict and displacement. Each unit operates on a rotating schedule, visiting different villages daily. Teams of seven, including auxiliary nurses, midwives, and other specialists, provide essential services like antenatal, deliveries, and postnatal care for women of childbearing age, EPI; Protection and treatment of the population against epidemics thre

Eager mothers talk to ICRC health staff.
@ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed

ICRC health officer Abdullahi Dahir speaks with one of the many women seeking treatment at the mobile health unit in Xaaro.

The ICRC supports SRCS by providing expertise including supportive supervision, covering team salaries, and supplying essential medical and equipment, fuel for the vehicles of the MHT, and other operational costs. Instagram reel

Mothers turn up in big numbers with their children.
@ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed

A relief for many, kids tag along with their mothers to receive the most basic of medical services, otherwise not available in their village.

A nurse compiles patient information.
@ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed

Mothers, children, and men from Xaaro gather around during registration. A nurse helps to collect their data for triage. Women, children, and the elderly are disproportionately affected during conflicts and displacements.