WHO Mediterranean Office calls for $6.42 million to sustain health and nutrition services across Somalia, Sudan and Djibouti -By Kelvin Kwame Dewey

The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean is urgently appealing for US$ 6.42 million to sustain lifesaving health and nutrition interventions across Somalia, Sudan and Djibouti.

The appeal forms part of WHO’s $ 25.4 million response to the Greater Horn of Africa (GHoA) Food Insecurity and Health Crisis, affecting 6 countries across the WHO Eastern Mediterranean and African regions.

The funding will enable WHO to sustain critical primary health care and lifesaving nutrition services, strengthen surveillance and early warning, maintain outbreak detection and response capacities, expand nutrition screening, support treatment and referral pathways at stabilization centres, strengthen community engagement and pre-position essential medicines, diagnostics and therapeutic supplies.

In Somalia, more than 6.5 million people are experiencing Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3 (Crisis) or worse levels of food insecurity, and 1.8 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition. More than 3.5 million people remain displaced, and funding shortages have forced the closure of over 200 health facilities, severely limiting access to essential care. Recurrent outbreaks of cholera/acute watery diarrhoea (AWD), measles, malaria and other communicable diseases continue to place additional pressure on the already fragile health system.

WHO is working with the Ministry of Health and partners to strengthen the management of severe acute malnutrition through nutrition stabilization centres and by deploying mobile health teams, expanding disease surveillance, strengthening frontline health worker capacity and pre-positioning essential medicines, diagnostics and cholera supplies.

The most severe food insecurity and nutrition emergency in GHoA is in Sudan. Nearly 19.5 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity, including 5 million people in IPC Phase 4, and 135 000 people are facing catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5). Fourteen localities are at risk of famine, and an estimated 825 000 children face severe acute malnutrition. At the same time, therapeutic nutrition supplies are at imminent risk of severe disruption.

WHO is supporting the management of severe acute malnutrition through nutrition stabilization centres, nutrition surveillance, frontline health worker training, supportive supervision, quality improvement, operational support and the pre-positioning of therapeutic supplies.

In Djibouti, approximately 230 000 people – around 22% of the population – are experiencing acute food insecurity (IPC PHASE 3+). More than 34 000 children and pregnant or breastfeeding women are affected by acute malnutrition, and 7700 children require urgent treatment for severe acute malnutrition. Population mobility, limited access to safe water and overstretched health services continue to heighten the risk of cholera, malaria, measles, dengue and other epidemic-prone diseases.

WHO is supporting the Ministry of Health to strengthen emergency coordination, disease surveillance, outbreak preparedness and essential health and nutrition services.

Without immediate funding, critical health and nutrition interventions will be reduced or interrupted, leaving millions of vulnerable people without access to essential care. This will increase preventable deaths, accelerate disease transmission and deepen an already devastating crisis across Somalia, Sudan and Djibouti.