Help a Child in Somalia

Discover more about the work of Help a Child in Somalia.

Help a Child collaborates with Medair and three local partners on an integrated Health, WASH, and Nutrition programme. Together, we are delivering lifesaving support to malnourished children, launching community health education initiatives, and securing access to clean water to combat waterborne diseases.

We also support the establishment of Child-Friendly Spaces and focus on identifying and treating survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based violence, ensuring that vulnerable children and families receive comprehensive care and protection.

In our Child-Centered Community Development approach, we integrate Health, WASH, and Nutrition in the projects. This includes strengthening local organisations, running awareness campaigns, and advocating for policy changes. Early Childhood Development Centres play a crucial role in this effort, especially in detecting and addressing malnutrition amongst young children.

DRA Acute Crises Joint Response March - September 2026

Help a Child in cooperation with Medair and local partner DAWA and in collaboration with MoH, delivered timely, life-saving health, nutrition and WASH interventions to crisis-affected populations in Daynile district (Banadir region) and Baidoa district (Bay region).

The response supported 34,412 crisis-affected people and contributed to the Joint Response’s objective of addressing urgent needs of communities affected by severe food insecurity, drought, displacement and limited access to essential services in most affected areas.

Under the Health sector, the project provided free access to primary health care consultations and maternal and newborn health services for crisis-affected populations, especially women, children, and displaced households. Life-saving health services were implemented through 2 fixed HFs (Mubarak in Daynile and Wasile in Baidoa), and 1 mobile outreach in Daynile. A total of 21,740 free PHC consultations were provided, reaching 96.5% of the target of 22,523.

526 safe deliveries were conducted at the 2 supported health facilities that offered 24/7 skilled delivery services.

The nutrition activities aimed to address emergency acute malnutrition through early identification and treatment of severe and moderate wasting among children under five (CU5), reducing their risk of malnutrition-related mortality. 15,012 CU5 were screened for acute malnutrition, significantly exceeding the target of 5,792. This huge overachievement reflects the project's effectiveness in identifying unmet needs and responding to the increased demand for nutrition services driven by population displacement due to drought conditions, economic hardship, and reduced availability of humanitarian assistance. Furthermore, 1,203 children with acute malnutrition were enrolled and treated, reaching 95% of the target of 1,270. This included 949 children with Severe Acute Malnutrition and 254 children with Moderate Acute Malnutrition, demonstrating strong performance in ensuring vulnerable children received timely and appropriate nutrition treatment services.

The WASH response successfully improved access to safe water and essential hygiene services for drought-affected and displaced populations in Baidoa and Daynile districts. At project closure, 19,202 individuals had sustained access to sufficient and safe water for domestic use, while 20,323 individuals gained regular access to soap and essential hygiene items. In addition, 23,213 individuals were reached with hygiene promotion and awareness activities, exceeding planned targets and contributing to improved hygiene practices and disease prevention. These achievements were made possible through a combination of rehabilitated and chlorinated water supply systems, emergency water trucking, hygiene kit distributions, and community-based hygiene promotion.