Médecins Sans Frontières closes two large medical centres in Mogadishu after killings

Our late colleague, Dr. Karel Keiluhu, caring for a malnourished child in Hodan, Mogadishu in October 2011. © Yann Libessart/MSF

Other projects in Somalia continue, but Médecins Sans Frontières medical assistance in Somali capital reduced by half.

19th January 2012 - Following the tragic killings of our colleagues Philippe Havet and Dr. Karel Keiluhu in Mogadishu, Somalia, on the 29th of December 2011, the medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières sees itself forced to end all activities in the Hodan district of the capital, including the closure of two separate 120-bed medical facilities for the treatment of malnutrition, measles and the treatment of cholera.

The closure of activities in this district halves the assistance Médecins Sans Frontières is providing in Mogadishu. For now, Médecins Sans Frontières projects will continue to provide medical care in the other districts of the capital, as well as in 10 locations in the rest of Somalia.

However, the continuation of Médecins Sans Frontières' work to assist Somalis in need of medical care is dependent upon the respect for personnel, patients and medical facilities. Where these conditions prevail, Médecins Sans Frontières remains committed to continue its activities in Somalia.

“It is hard to close health services in a location where the presence of our medical teams is genuinely life-saving every day,” states Christopher Stokes, Médecins Sans Frontières General Director, “but the brutal assassination of our colleagues in Hodan makes it impossible for us to continue working in this district of Mogadishu.”

In Hodan, Médecins Sans Frontières has been assisting 200,000 Somalis who had fled to the capital in recent months. Since August 2011, treatment has been provided to 11,787 malnourished children, 1,232 patients for acute watery diarrhoea and 861 measles patients. Médecins Sans Frontières teams have also vaccinated 67,228 children against measles.

Médecins Sans Frontières strongly reiterates its call to all parties, the leadership and the people of Somalia to facilitate the safe release of Montserrat Serra and Blanca Thiebaut, Médecins Sans Frontières aid workers who were abducted in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya on 13 October 2011 while carrying out emergency assistance for the Somali population.

Médecins Sans Frontières has been working in Somalia continuously since 1991 and currently operates 13 projects in the country, including medical activities related to the ongoing emergency, vaccination campaigns, as well as nutritional interventions. Médecins Sans Frontières also assists Somali refugees in camps in Dadaab, Kenya, and Dolo Ado, Ethiopia.

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