MOGADISHU, Somalia (Kaab TV) – For over three decades, Somalia has grappled with the devastating aftermath of civil war, government collapse, and the breakdown of essential public services.
Among the most critical challenges facing the population is the near-total absence of government-run healthcare, leaving millions without access to medical treatment.
In makeshift camps like Barxad-weyn in Mogadishu’s Kaxda district, internally displaced people (IDPs) endure severe living conditions.
Widespread illness, food and water shortages, and lack of basic services plague these communities.
Many IDPs have lived for years with untreated, often life-threatening illnesses.
Amid this crisis, a group of Somali female health professionals has stepped in to fill the gap.
These trained volunteers, operating under the Somali Female Health Professionals Forum, have launched a grassroots medical initiative to offer free treatment and lifesaving surgeries to vulnerable patients who cannot afford hospital care.
The team regularly visits camps on the outskirts of Mogadishu to identify and assist those in need.
So far, they have coordinated over a dozen successful surgeries, mostly for patients suffering from tumors.
One such patient is Abdi Omar Nur—known locally as “Buraale” due to the large goiter that had protruded from his neck for 16 years.
The condition forced him to quit his job, severely impacting his livelihood.
After meeting the volunteers, Abdi was referred to a local hospital in Mogadishu, where he underwent successful surgery free of charge.
“I couldn’t sleep or work because of the lump on my neck,” said Abdi. “Alhamdulillah, I received surgery. Now I can move my neck freely again.”
Sahro Abdulle Ali, a mother of seven who had suffered for over a decade from a tumor in her upper arm known medically as lipoma.
Sahro, who lives in Xaawo Taako camp, had worked as a cleaner — a common daily job for many IDP women to earn a living — but she struggled due to her condition.
” After 12 years, now I feel that I can work again,” Sahro told Kaab TV.
She too received free surgery, thanks to the volunteers’ efforts.
“We are health volunteers,” said Fatima Ismail Warsame, chair of the Somali Women Health Professionals Council. “We collect reports on poor and displaced people in need of medical care. Then we appeal to hospitals and doctors. When approved, we help facilitate the treatment.”
Most of the volunteers are trained nurses and healthcare workers, operating across Mogadishu.
Their work has gained support from hospitals like Germany Hospital, whose Director General Dr. Hassan Omar Mursal said: “We don’t set strict conditions. If the patient qualifies medically and surgery is feasible, we proceed.”
Still, challenges remain. Not all patients can undergo surgery—especially the elderly or those with chronic conditions like diabetes or hypertension.
Additionally, Somalia’s overwhelmed hospitals cannot meet the demand, and with the suspension of USAID funding to Somalia, aid shortages are worsening.
Today, an estimated 3.8 million people are internally displaced across Somalia, with limited or no access to healthcare. In the absence of a functioning public health system, the efforts of these volunteer health professionals offer a rare and vital lifeline.