GENEVA/MOGADISHU – The UN Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Somalia has asked Somalia’s central government to enhance health-care facilities, end child marriage, and ensure journalist safety.
Isha Dyfan welcomed the actions done by the authorities and humanitarian partners to implement an Emergency Response and Preparedness Plan and supply food, water, and other vital supplies to IDP populations in Baidoa and other areas of the nation at the end of a six-day visit to the country.
The UN expert urged the international community to guarantee that all children, particularly girls, have access to essential social amenities such as drinking water, sanitation, housing, and health and education. She also asked the government to expand public health service delivery.
“Access to health care remains dangerously low in the country,” Dyfan told journalists in Mogadishu at the end of her visit on 2 April.
“There is just one government hospital in Mogadishu, the capital, and individuals are frequently forced to seek health care at a private facility and pay exorbitant fees for their own treatment. Only a small percentage of the population can afford these care, resulting in high infant and maternal mortality.”
She also demanded that forced and child marriages be abolished.
Dyfan expressed concern about the arbitrary arrest and incarceration of journalists by security officials across the country, emphasizing the necessity of upholding the right to freedom of expression and opinion.
The UN expert visited with government officials, humanitarian and civil society representatives, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).