AMISOM Delivers Aid to Somali People in Need

ADF STAFF

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) continues to support Somalis with medical aid, as troops recently delivered a second shipment of supplies to the Hiran region in Hirshabelle State.

The donations are part of broader actions to fight COVID-19 through civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) and build strong relationships with local communities.

AMISOM on August 9 received delivery of supplies, including antifungals, anti-parasite drugs, antibiotics, antacids, pain medications and an assortment of vitamins from the U.S. Civil Affairs Unit in Mogadishu.

AMISOM Deputy CIMIC officer Cyriaque Bikorimana said the medical supplies will be distributed to communities in Lower Shabelle.

“CIMIC has to coordinate activities between civilians and the army and support operations so as to gain the support of the Somali population,” he said. “We are not here only to fight but also to win hearts in order to help Somalia get peace.”

On July 24, troops from Djibouti and Ethiopia unloaded two truckloads of supplies, including medicine, vitamins and syringes, and gave them to Hiran Governor Ali Jeyte Osman in a ceremony at a regional hospital.

“We appreciate the donation to our people because there are no conditions attached to it whatsoever,” he said, according to a report by Radio Garowe. “The supplies will be handed over to the health department, which will distribute them to health facilities across the region.”

In addition to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread displacement from persistent flooding, the Hiran region has endured repeated attacks by the extremist group al-Shabaab. Just over a month before this latest aid delivery, the group fired mortars on a Djiboutian military base and captured nearby land in Beledweyne before being repelled.

It has made health care an ongoing challenge.

Somalia has 3,227 cases of COVID-19 and 93 deaths, according to August 9 statistics from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The country has reported 14,935 tests conducted on its population of nearly 16 million.

Earlier in July, AMISOM troops went to Beledweyne General Hospital to donate medical supplies, including chloroquine phosphate to treat malaria, the antibiotic amoxicillin, and vitamins for malnourished children.

Governor Ali thanked AMISOM on behalf of the people of the Hiran region, saying the donation came at a time when hospitals were facing a severe shortage of medicine.

Hirshabelle State Ministry of Health coordinator Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Khalif expressed appreciation for how closely AMISOM monitors the community, noting that the supplies will help health centers in the region cope with an overwhelming number of patients.

“We thank our brothers for their continued support to our health sector and look forward to similar donations in the future,” Khalif said, as Radio Garowe reported.