Médecins Sans Frontières assists wounded after heavy fighting in Somalia

A patient is operated on in Médecins Sans Frontières' hospital in Galcayo, Somalia on 16 August. © Sven Torfinn

The international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières is assisting wounded patients in the town of Galcaayo in the Mudug Region of Somalia. Heavy fighting broke out on Thursday 1 September in the town, leading to many casualties including among civilians. The hospital in Galcaayo North, partly supported by Médecins Sans Frontières, has treated 60 wounded, most of them civilians, while 20 wounded have been treated so far at a Médecins Sans Frontières run hospital in the southern part of the city. Until now, the fighting is reported to have claimed 18 lives.

“Médecins Sans Frontières is extremely concerned about the high number of civilian casualties that this round of fighting has caused,” said Rolland Kaya, Médecins Sans Frontières’ Project Coordinator. “We will continue to monitor the situation up close and provide more medical assistance if necessary.”

Médecins Sans Frontières has provided the hospital in Galcaayo North with additional surgical materials and other medical stocks needed to cater for the influx of wounded people. Médecins Sans Frontières is working in the hospital’s out-patient department, focused on providing medical care to children under 12. In July Médecins Sans Frontières opened a new in-patient paediatric department, while the organisation also provides therapeutic feeding for malnourished children. In Galcaayo South, Médecins Sans Frontières provides an extensive package of healthcare, including surgery services.

Galcaayo is experiencing serious medical needs not only among the local population but also among the thousands of displaced people who have fled violence and drought in other parts of the country during the ongoing nutritional emergency. Médecins Sans Frontières is the main provider of free healthcare services for hundreds of kilometers around Galcaayo.

Médecins Sans Frontières has worked continuously in Somalia since 1991 and currently provides free medical care in eight regions. Over 1,400 Somali staff, supported by approximately 100 staff in Nairobi, provide free primary healthcare, surgery, treatment for malnutrition, as well as support to displaced people through health care, water supply and relief items distributions in nine locations in south and central Somalia. Médecins Sans Frontières is also providing medical care to Somali refugees in Kenya (Dagahaley and Ifo camps) and Ethiopia (Liben).