Children Hit the Hardest
Authorities and aid groups are raising alarm over a fast-spreading diphtheria crisis in Somalia, with more than 97% of infections affecting children. The bacterial disease, though preventable through vaccination, is worsening due to poor coverage and fragile living conditions.
Spike in Cases Reported
Dr Abdulrazaq Yusuf Ahmed, director of Demartino Hospital in Mogadishu, noted a dramatic rise. “In all of 2024, we treated 49 patients, but in just the past four months of 2025, that figure has jumped to 497,” he said. Deaths have also risen sharply, from 13 to 42.
National Figures Show Worrying Increase
The health ministry has recorded 1,616 cases and 87 deaths so far this year. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned that the majority are children under 15, pointing to inadequate vaccination, reluctance to immunise, and overcrowded living conditions as key drivers.
Severe Shortages of Medicine
According to MSF medical coordinator Frida Athanassiadis, many clinics lack the capacity to manage the surge in cases. Emergency supplies of antitoxin have already been used up, while the World Health Organization and Somalia’s health ministry are distributing the few doses that remain where they are most urgently required.
Rise in Other Infectious Diseases
Save the Children reported that between April and July, combined cases of measles, cholera, diphtheria, whooping cough, and acute respiratory infections more than doubled from 22,600 to over 46,000. Around 60% of those affected were children under five. The NGO linked the rise to cuts in aid that have weakened immunisation drives and treatment programs.
Community Accounts of the Outbreak
Residents in Mogadishu describe a growing crisis. “Many children in my area are ill, some have been admitted to hospital,” said local father Abdiwahid Ali. Grocer Anab Hassan shared: “A close friend lost her five-year-old daughter to diphtheria, and many others tell me their children are sick. Each day brings new cases.”
