Galcayo, Somalia: MSF's Free Hospital and Clinics 'A Lifeline for People'

July 9, 2014

Galcayo is located in south-central Somalia with a ‘green line’ that divides Galcayo South and Galcayo North between warring factions. Twenty years of violence have destroyed basic state services and the healthcare system. Women and children are particularly vulnerable, with one in 12 women dying during childbirth and one in seven children dying before his or her first birthday.

Galcayo has significant medical needs, not only for the local population but for the thousands of displaced people who have fled the ongoing violence in Mogadishu, about 466 miles (750 km) away, to settle in Galcayo South.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is the only provider of free health care services for hundreds of kilometers around. A team of 144 Somali staff work in MSF’s hospital in Galcayo South, providing a comprehensive range of services in its inpatient and outpatient departments, including trauma surgery, ante- and post- natal care, emergency obstetric services, infant care, and treatment for tuberculosis and malnutrition. Some patients travel to this MSF facility from as far away as Ethiopia, the border of which is 100 km (62 miles) away.

“MSF’s hospital in Galcayo South is a lifeline for people here,” says Karin Fischer-Liddle, MSF's head of mission in Somalia.

In Galcayo North, MSF also runs TB and nutritional clinics, including an out-patient center for children under 12 years old. Every year, MSF provides over 35,000 medical consultations. MSF is the biggest provider of free, quality medical care in Somalia.

A woman walks down a dirt road in the Galcayo region, located about 450 miles (725 km) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu, where violence has surged recently.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

MSF runs 10 projects in eight regions of south central Somalia, including Galcayo. Here, patients enter the grounds of the MSF-run South Galcayo Hospital.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

Somali medical personnel work inside the hospital. More than 1,300 Somali staff run MSF’s programs in the country, supported by 100 staff based in Nairobi.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

A nurse inserts a drip into the arm of a young malnourished patient.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

This 24-year-old was shot in his left leg. Suffering from gangrene, he must have his leg amputated. He had to travel about 125 miles for medical help. In 2009, MSF treated more than 300 people for violence related injuries in the hospital.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

A newborn baby lies in a bed in the maternity ward. The MSF staff offer emergency obstetric care in Galcayo. In 2009, they delivered 700 babies.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

Children are often brought to traditional healers before their guardians bring them to the hospital in Galcayo. This malnourished child bears burn marks of traditional healing, but is now being treated in the therapeutic feeding center. Last year, MSF staff there treated more than 4,800 malnourished children.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

A patient lays on her mattress in front of the pediatric ward at Galcayo MSF clinic, Somalia.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

Mothers and caretakers wait outside the pediatric ward. Children are the most affected by many of the challenges that face Somalis; violence, displacement, drought, lack of nutritious food and of health care. “My child’s illness started with measles and she became very weak,” said one mother. “After some time she developed blindness and then fell unconscious.”

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

This young woman has seven children and is suffering from pneumonia, but she had just spent 12 days at the hospital trying to care for her malnourished child.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

Somali women with eye problems wait for consultations. Like many health issues in Somalia, eye problems often go untreated. A manageable issue like a common cataract can lead to blindness.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

For one week in April this year, the hospital held an eye clinic where 3,000 people were screened and 600 were operated on. Losing one’s vision can be devastating in a place like Somalia. In many cases, simple surgery can vastly improve one’s life.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

A patient at the MSF clinic waits for consultation for eye surgery led by Dr. Abdi Dalmar in Galcayo South.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

This 10-year-old girl was brought to the MSF hospital to receive surgery for the cataract she has had since birth and which prevented her from going to school and learning to read.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

After her mother heard the MSF announcement for the eye clinic on the radio, she brought her daughter one day’s journey by car to Galcayo. After successful operation, the young girl was able to see for the first time.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

An MSF nurse and anesthetist prepare another young girl for eye surgery.

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet

“We have seen patients that flew from Mogadishu just to have the surgery,” said the surgeon who performed the eye operations. “And that really explains the lack of services and the eagerness of people really to benefit from this valuable service.”

Somalia 2010 © Frederic Courbet