Somalia Launches National Child Helpline Centre to Strengthen Protection Services

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: The Ministry of Family and Human Rights Development has launched a new National Child Helpline Centre to operate the free emergency line 166, which officials say is Africa’s most widely used child-support hotline.

Minister Khadija Mohamed Al-Makhzoumi inaugurated the facility in Mogadishu alongside senior ministry officials, including State Minister Mohamed Osman Nastaro and Deputy Minister Maryan Ali Abukar.

The centre will provide immediate and confidential assistance to children facing abuse, neglect or other risks, and will be staffed by newly trained child-protection officers. Addressing the team, Minister Al-Makhzoumi urged them to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and emphasised the national responsibility placed on them to safeguard vulnerable children.

The initiative is part of broader government efforts to strengthen Somalia’s child-protection system and coincides with the 10th anniversary of the country’s accession to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

According to the ministry, the 166 helpline will serve as a rapid-response mechanism, offering crisis support, counselling and referrals to appropriate services.

Officials said the opening of the centre reflects Somalia’s continued commitment to improving child welfare and expanding protection services nationwide.