UN Raises Alarm As Funding Crisis Threatens Key Laas Caanood Health Centre

GOOBJOOG NEWS|LAAS CAANOOD: The United Nations has raised alarm over the deteriorating health and humanitarian situation in northern Somalia, where severe funding shortages are threatening the closure of a maternal and child health centre that has served communities in Laas Caanood for nearly four decades.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the possible loss of the Central Mother and Child Health Centre comes at a particularly critical time, as communities grapple with worsening drought, food insecurity and malnutrition, while anticipated heavy rains could increase the risk of flooding and disease outbreaks in the coming months.

The centre provides free maternal and child healthcare, vaccinations and other basic medical services to residents, including displaced and low-income families with few alternatives for treatment.

According to OCHA, all 18 medical workers at the facility are currently working without pay as funding shortages increasingly constrain its operations.

“We are facing an extremely difficult situation,” OCHA quoted Maryam Abdinasir, the centre’s officer-in-charge, as saying. “Funding cuts have severely affected our operations. All 18 medical staff working here are providing services on a voluntary basis.”

Despite the shortages, the centre continues to handle significant numbers of patients. In August alone, it treated 722 children, including 567 under the age of five, while more than 450 pregnant and breastfeeding women received health services.

Twenty-four women delivered at the centre during the month and 155 children were vaccinated against preventable diseases.

The facility was damaged during the 2023 fighting in Laas Caanood and surrounding areas, and parts of it still require rehabilitation. Health workers say they urgently need medical supplies, repairs to damaged infrastructure and financial incentives to enable staff to continue working.

The threat to the facility comes as communities across Sool and other northern regions struggle with worsening drought, food insecurity and declining access to basic services.

OCHA said up to 1.9 million people in Sool, Sanaag, Bari, Nugaal and Mudug are estimated to be acutely food insecure. More than 75 per cent of traditional water sources in Sool and neighbouring Sanaag have dried up, while more than 165,000 people across the two regions have been directly affected by drought.

The humanitarian situation could deteriorate further during the October-to-December period. OCHA said a projected El Niño is expected to increase the risk of widespread flooding and disease outbreaks, potentially creating additional health needs in communities already struggling with drought, malnutrition and reduced access to medical care.

Humanitarian agencies have stepped up preparedness for anticipated heavy rains, but OCHA said additional funding is urgently needed.

The pressures facing the Laas Caanood centre reflect a wider deterioration in Somalia’s health services amid declining humanitarian funding.

Citing World Health Organization figures, OCHA said 380 health facilities either closed or operated at reduced capacity across 11 regions between January and June, with primary healthcare facilities accounting for most of those affected.

At least 115 mobile health units have also closed this year, cutting off an important source of healthcare for remote and hard-to-reach communities, while 30 hospitals are operating below capacity. At least 10 public hospitals in Laas Caanood, Badhan and Buuhoodle districts are struggling to remain operational.

Children are particularly vulnerable to the combination of reduced healthcare services, drought and worsening malnutrition. According to UNICEF figures cited by OCHA, admissions of children suffering severe acute malnutrition with medical complications to stabilization centres increased by 32 per cent during the first six months of 2026 compared with the same period last year.

The worsening humanitarian needs are occurring as funding for Somalia’s response remains critically low. As of September 15, OCHA said the hyper-prioritized 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan was only 30.7 per cent funded.

Between January and June, just 29 per cent of people targeted for assistance across 64 districts received multi-cluster support. In Sool, Sanaag and Togdheer, only 26 per cent of the 83,000 people targeted for assistance had been reached.

Overall, 6.5 million people, nearly one-third of Somalia’s population, are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, while about 1.9 million children are suffering acute malnutrition, including 493,000 with severe acute malnutrition, according to figures cited in the OCHA report.

For families in Laas Caanood, the immediate concern is whether one of the community’s longest-serving sources of free healthcare can remain open.

Assanti Abdi, a displaced woman of Ethiopian origin living in Laas Caanood, told OCHA that she delivered all four of her children at the centre and has relied on it for their vaccinations and medical treatment.

“We don’t know where we will go if this facility closes,” she said.

Without additional assistance, OCHA warned, the Central Mother and Child Health Centre could close after nearly 40 years of providing essential healthcare, further weakening the community’s ability to cope with drought, malnutrition, disease risks and potentially damaging heavy rains.