WHO EMRO – WHO and AICS restore lifesaving services at Bakool Regional Hospital, renewing hope for families

20 January 2026, Mogadishu, Somalia – Hudur town, the capital of the Bakool region of south-west Somalia, is about 375 kilometres (km) from Mogadishu. For many years this remote region has struggled with conflict and prolonged drought. Most families in Bakool are either displaced or living in severe poverty, their livestock and livelihoods destroyed, leaving them with few options for survival.

With limited access to health services, families across the seven districts of the region have been facing a serious health care crisis. Health clinics that once provided basic services have fallen apart, leaving mothers, children and older people with nowhere to seek help when they are sick. Without working health centres in their villages, families have no choice but to leave their homes and travel to the bigger towns in the region, such as Hudur town, to seek basic medical care.

In 2022, in response to the severe health challenges facing vulnerable families in Bakool, the Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and the World Health Organization (WHO), intensified efforts to address the region’s longstanding health care gaps. What began as an urgent intervention, has now grown into a coordinated push to restore essential services for communities in need.

This work is anchored in a 30-month project to improve essential health services using a hospital-based care approach. The initiative has reshaped access to health care for thousands of vulnerable families – 7266 households – mostly internally displaced people (IDPs) living across 76 settlements within Bakool.

For the first time in years, hope is returning to Bakool. Once strained by crumbling facilities and limited resources, the region’s main hospital is beginning to offer the kind of care families have long been waiting for.

Daynabo Ali Abdulrahman, a 50-year-old mother of eight – three boys and five girls – lives at the Garasweyne IDP camp in Hudur, not far from Bakool Regional Hospital. Daynabo’s family is among those households benefiting from the revitalized Bakool Regional Hospital, where several long-closed departments have been reopened and restored through support from AICS and WHO Somalia. For families like hers, these improvements are more than services – they are a lifeline, offering safety, dignity and the hope of a healthier future.

“Life is a little easier for my family now. When my children get sick, we can take them to the Regional Hospital in Hudur. Back then, there were no health services at all, and we had to leave our village of Garasweyn, 50 km away, just to survive. Alhamdulillah, these changes give us hope, safety and a chance for our children to grow up healthy, even though life’s challenges are still many,” said Daynabo.

Thanks to generous support from AICS, key sections of the Bakool Regional Hospital – including the outpatient department, operating theatre and radiology unit – have been rebuilt, refurbished and fully equipped. Health workers have received critical training, the referral system has been strengthened and additional renovations have improved infection control, workplace safety and emergency response.

During a recent field visit, Dr Mohamed Ali Kamil and South-West State Minister of Health Sa’id Ahmed Ali toured the upgraded facilities. They praised the hospital’s leadership – supported by Action Against Hunger Somalia – for coordinating partner support effectively and restoring public trust in essential health services.

“The upgrades here in Hudur are a testament to what can be achieved through sustained partnership,” said Dr Kamil. “We are not just rebuilding buildings, we are rebuilding trust in the health system and ensuring families in Bakool and beyond receive faster, safer and more reliable health care.”

For communities across Bakool and neighbouring areas, the impact is already visible. Patients are being seen faster, emergencies are handled more safely and families now feel confident seeking care closer to home.

These improvements mark more than just an infrastructure upgrade; they signal a stronger, more resilient health system for Somalia. By reinforcing regional hospitals like Bakool’s, the country is becoming better prepared to respond to future emergencies and deliver essential health services to every community that depends on them.

While the project has helped ease the hardships caused by recent droughts and disease outbreaks, the journey is far from over. Rebuilt infrastructure and solar-powered facilities have given communities a foundation on which to recover, but ongoing support for health workers remains crucial. The challenge now is to protect and sustain these hard-won gains – so that the lights in Bakool Regional Hospital keep shining, bringing hope, care and healing to families for many years to come.

For more information, please contact: 

Khadar Hared, Communication Officer, WHO Somalia
Tel: +252619800011
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.