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Coronavirus Hinders the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Fragile States’
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Coronavirus Hinders the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Fragile States’
In the context of conflicts, poverty and a deficient health care, a coronavirus pandemic would be a catastrophe. Somalia is one of the most fragile states, and its health care resources would not suffice if the pandemic spread to the country. Besides the immediate effects, it would set back or even reverse the progress on sexual and reproductive health, gender equality and other Sustainable Development Goals.
About a month ago I visited a clinic specialized in prenatal and maternal health in Digaale, Somaliland. The clinic serves internally displaced people. As part of the MIDA FINNSOM project coordinated by IOM, the clinic is currently using a prenatal health app via tablet and distributing maternity kits as an incentive to mothers to come to the clinic to give birth.
The clinic of Digaale is located next to a densely populated refugee camp. It offers its prenatal and maternal health services free of charge for women and mothers with infants. The clinic can care for mothers and assist them in non-emergency delivery. When I visited the site, the clinic yard was full of women and children, there were many people in the examination rooms and a large number of relatives of the women delivering babies swarmed the maternity ward.
About 15% of the clients suffer from malnutrition. The hygiene level of the clinic is relatively good, but the equipment is insufficient. There are no incubators for newborn babies and there is a shortage of protective equipment and medicines.
COVID-19 Affects Reproductive Health and Gender Equality
Now that the new coronavirus and the COVID-19 it causes is raging around the world, there is reason to worry about how clinics like Digaale will survive if the virus starts to spread, for example, in refugee camps. What will happen to pregnant women and children if the corona pandemic starts to spread in their environment?
The spread of the coronavirus has a particularly negative effect on women in a vulnerable position. It is very difficult for fragile healthcare systems to provide adequate sexual and reproductive health services during a pandemic. In addition, coronavirus prevention measures would limit access to these very important services at a time when women and girls need them more than ever.
According to UN Women Finland (2020), women and girls living in refugee camps or in camp-like conditions are in a particularly vulnerable situation. It is more difficult for them to access vital resources such as clean water, food, medicines and hygiene products. In refugee camps, girls often also run the everyday life of families and bear the responsibility of caring for the sick and children. During the pandemic, the caregiving responsibility puts their health at particular risk.
The Health System in Somalia is Especially Fragile
At the time of publishing this blog post, the coronavirus has not yet spread on an epidemic scale in Africa, but no one knows what the situation will be in weeks or months. Especially in a fragile state like Somalia, a coronavirus pandemic would be fatal. In Somalia, which is ravaged by civil war, healthcare resources are severely lacking. The staffing shortage is huge in every professional group.
There are only about three doctors, 11 nurses and three midwives for every 100 000 people. Even though efforts have been made to train new nurses in recent years, it is difficult to recruit qualified staff to public hospitals due to low pay, poor working conditions and security threats. The situation is also complicated due to the fact that there are only 0.76 health care units per 10 000 people in the country.
The lack of staff and resources as well as the uncertainty caused by conflict and poverty are reflected in grim statistics. Maternal mortality in Somalia is among the highest in the world. For every 100 000 live births, 732 mothers die, and only 15% give birth assisted by a professional. Infant mortality is also very high; one in seven children dies before the age of five.
The first coronavirus infection was confirmed in Somalia on 19 March. As a result, the country's central government ordered schools and universities to be closed and urged citizens to stay at home and to physically distance themselves from other people. However, testing or isolating infected people is practically impossible in many areas. In such a situation, the solutions are simple: one of the priorities is to secure clean water and soap for everyone.
COVID-19 and Sustainable Development
During a dangerous pandemic the need for humanitarian assistance rises. IOM has already appealed to donors and applied for 43.4 million dollars for the fight against the coronavirus in the southern, western and eastern African region.
It remains to be seen how the coronavirus will affect the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in fragile states. It is at least certain that the possible spread of the COVID-19 pandemic would cause significant damage to fragile health systems and gender equality. Moreover, it would put the state’s economy at serious risk.
MIDA FINNSOM in a nutshell
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IOM has coordinated MIDA FINNSOM projects for 10 years. The projects are financed by the Foreign Ministry of Finland.
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The goal of these projects is to support the health care and education sector in Somalia by recruiting mainly Finnish health and education professionals with Somali background for assignments of one year or one year and a half in their former home country.
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The first phase of MIDA FINNSOM Health and Education project began in 2015 and the second phase will end in 2022. The project is implemented in South Somalia.
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MIDA FINNSOM Health project began with a pilot phase in 2008. Currently the project is in its fourth phase, which will end in 2020. The project is implemented in Somaliland.
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During the 10 years of MIDA FINNSOM, 173 diaspora experts have been recruited for the projects to work in ministries, universities and hospitals. About 30% of the participants in the program have been Finno-Somali. In addition, experts have come, for example from the USA, Canada and the UK.
Twitter: @aaguilera18
Kirjoittaja työskentelee IOM:n Suomen-toimistossa MIDA FINNSOM -projektin koordinaattorina.
IOM:n Suomen-toimiston blogin kirjoittajien näkemykset ovat heidän omiaan eivätkä välttämättä edusta YK:n siirtolaisuusjärjestö IOM:n virallista kantaa.
Lähteet
Health Cluster Somalia, Somalia Health Cluster Strategy for 2014–2018. Available here.
WHO, Reproductive Health – Somalia, 2018.
UNICEF, Somalia Statistics. Accessed online on October 2018.
Related Blogs
In the context of conflicts, poverty and a deficient health care, a coronavirus pandemic would be a catastrophe. Somalia is one of the most fragile states, and its health care resources would not suffice if the pandemic spread to the country. Besides the immediate effects, it would set back or even reverse the progress on sexual and reproductive health, gender equality and other Sustainable Development Goals.
About a month ago I visited a clinic specialized in prenatal and maternal health in Digaale, Somaliland. The clinic serves internally displaced people. As part of the MIDA FINNSOM project coordinated by IOM, the clinic is currently using a prenatal health app via tablet and distributing maternity kits as an incentive to mothers to come to the clinic to give birth.
The clinic of Digaale is located next to a densely populated refugee camp. It offers its prenatal and maternal health services free of charge for women and mothers with infants. The clinic can care for mothers and assist them in non-emergency delivery. When I visited the site, the clinic yard was full of women and children, there were many people in the examination rooms and a large number of relatives of the women delivering babies swarmed the maternity ward.
About 15% of the clients suffer from malnutrition. The hygiene level of the clinic is relatively good, but the equipment is insufficient. There are no incubators for newborn babies and there is a shortage of protective equipment and medicines.
COVID-19 Affects Reproductive Health and Gender Equality
Now that the new coronavirus and the COVID-19 it causes is raging around the world, there is reason to worry about how clinics like Digaale will survive if the virus starts to spread, for example, in refugee camps. What will happen to pregnant women and children if the corona pandemic starts to spread in their environment?
The spread of the coronavirus has a particularly negative effect on women in a vulnerable position. It is very difficult for fragile healthcare systems to provide adequate sexual and reproductive health services during a pandemic. In addition, coronavirus prevention measures would limit access to these very important services at a time when women and girls need them more than ever.
According to UN Women Finland (2020), women and girls living in refugee camps or in camp-like conditions are in a particularly vulnerable situation. It is more difficult for them to access vital resources such as clean water, food, medicines and hygiene products. In refugee camps, girls often also run the everyday life of families and bear the responsibility of caring for the sick and children. During the pandemic, the caregiving responsibility puts their health at particular risk.
The Health System in Somalia is Especially Fragile
At the time of publishing this blog post, the coronavirus has not yet spread on an epidemic scale in Africa, but no one knows what the situation will be in weeks or months. Especially in a fragile state like Somalia, a coronavirus pandemic would be fatal. In Somalia, which is ravaged by civil war, healthcare resources are severely lacking. The staffing shortage is huge in every professional group.
There are only about three doctors, 11 nurses and three midwives for every 100 000 people. Even though efforts have been made to train new nurses in recent years, it is difficult to recruit qualified staff to public hospitals due to low pay, poor working conditions and security threats. The situation is also complicated due to the fact that there are only 0.76 health care units per 10 000 people in the country.
The lack of staff and resources as well as the uncertainty caused by conflict and poverty are reflected in grim statistics. Maternal mortality in Somalia is among the highest in the world. For every 100 000 live births, 732 mothers die, and only 15% give birth assisted by a professional. Infant mortality is also very high; one in seven children dies before the age of five.
The first coronavirus infection was confirmed in Somalia on 19 March. As a result, the country's central government ordered schools and universities to be closed and urged citizens to stay at home and to physically distance themselves from other people. However, testing or isolating infected people is practically impossible in many areas. In such a situation, the solutions are simple: one of the priorities is to secure clean water and soap for everyone.
COVID-19 and Sustainable Development
During a dangerous pandemic the need for humanitarian assistance rises. IOM has already appealed to donors and applied for 43.4 million dollars for the fight against the coronavirus in the southern, western and eastern African region.
It remains to be seen how the coronavirus will affect the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in fragile states. It is at least certain that the possible spread of the COVID-19 pandemic would cause significant damage to fragile health systems and gender equality. Moreover, it would put the state’s economy at serious risk.
MIDA FINNSOM in a nutshell
-
IOM has coordinated MIDA FINNSOM projects for 10 years. The projects are financed by the Foreign Ministry of Finland.
-
The goal of these projects is to support the health care and education sector in Somalia by recruiting mainly Finnish health and education professionals with Somali background for assignments of one year or one year and a half in their former home country.
-
The first phase of MIDA FINNSOM Health and Education project began in 2015 and the second phase will end in 2022. The project is implemented in South Somalia.
-
MIDA FINNSOM Health project began with a pilot phase in 2008. Currently the project is in its fourth phase, which will end in 2020. The project is implemented in Somaliland.
-
During the 10 years of MIDA FINNSOM, 173 diaspora experts have been recruited for the projects to work in ministries, universities and hospitals. About 30% of the participants in the program have been Finno-Somali. In addition, experts have come, for example from the USA, Canada and the UK.
Twitter: @aaguilera18
Kirjoittaja työskentelee IOM:n Suomen-toimistossa MIDA FINNSOM -projektin koordinaattorina.
IOM:n Suomen-toimiston blogin kirjoittajien näkemykset ovat heidän omiaan eivätkä välttämättä edusta YK:n siirtolaisuusjärjestö IOM:n virallista kantaa.
Lähteet
Health Cluster Somalia, Somalia Health Cluster Strategy for 2014–2018. Available here.
WHO, Reproductive Health – Somalia, 2018.
UNICEF, Somalia Statistics. Accessed online on October 2018.