Mother and child clinics in Somaliland
| In Somalia, a country devastated by conflict and natural disasters, a quarter of all children die before their fifth birthday. Many of these deaths are due to easily preventable diseases such as diarrhoea and measles. Women are also at risk, particularly during pregnancy and childbirth. | | |  | |
A network of mother and child clinics run by the Somali Red Crescent provides the country's only reliable source of healthcare.
Between 1997 and 2007, the British Red Cross supported four clinics in Somaliland in the northwest of the country.
A vital lifeline
At the clinics, Red Crescent medical staff and volunteers routinely immunise children against diseases such as measles and polio. They also provide simple, but effective cures, such as oral rehydration salts to treat children suffering from diarrhoea.
Pregnancy is the most dangerous time for a Somali woman and trained midwives from the clinics provide vital care for mothers before, during and after childbirth.
Children are monitored during their early years, to combat malnutrition and mothers are given advice about how to improve the health of their babies.
The clinics also have an important role to play in educating the community about health-related issues, including hygiene, nutrition and HIV and AIDS. Mobile units based at the clinics, reach out to remote villages and nomadic communities, taking healthcare and health education to even the most inaccessible areas.
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