Somalia

In the frame of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, and to increase efforts to end the 7-year variant poliovirus epidemic, the Minister of Health and Human Services and high-level representatives reviewed progress, analyzing data and strategies

Ethiopia's ambassador has been expelled and two Ethiopian consulates have been closed: first reason would be the much-discussed agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland but observers say there are also the diplomatic moves between Ethiopia and Puntland

A recent accident involving Somali pirates underscored the renewed threat they pose to global shipping, after a Bangladeshi-owned bulk carrier fell victim to pirates in the western Indian Ocean

WHO called for more funds to improve activities to contain the cholera epidemic in Somalia; according to the Somali Ministry of Health, 2.943 new cholera cases and 26 deaths have been reported in Somalia since January 2024

Save the Children called for greater protection of women and girls in Somalia, following the increase in sexual abuse and rape of teenage girls in recent months

The Somali authorities banned, for security reasons, the wearing of masks in the capital Mogadishu, as the use of masks would be used to conceal identity and facilitate criminal activities

WHO launched a project to reduce child deaths related to pneumonia and diarrhoea, in collaboration with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre; it will equip 28 health facilities in 10 selected districts with solar-powered oxygen concentrators

The head of the Saudi Arabian humanitarian agency, KSrelief, arrived in Somalia to launch 24 humanitarian aid projects worth a total of $45 million, covering food security, health, education, water and environmental sanitation

Acted is currently providing emergency food assistance to 1425 vulnerable families affected by the devastating rains and flash floods starting in October 2023 which led to the overflowing of the Juba River in the district of Baardheere

A helicopter belonging to the UN mission in Somalia was captured by al-Shabaab militiamen after accidentally landing in territory controlled by the armed group; at least six aid workers who were on the aircraft are now in their hands

Somalia has formally joined the East African Community as the 8th member state; President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed the bloc's accession treaty three weeks after being approved at a leaders' summit in Arusha, Tanzania