Located at the horn of Africa, Somalia has witnessed one of the longest civil wars dating back from 1991. Prior to the inception of this conflict, the country had enjoyed a democratic and peaceful rule from its leaders, after gaining their independence from Italy and Britain. Modern-day Somalia is, therefore, “a tale of independence, prosperity and democracy in the 1960s, military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s - followed by a desperate decline into civil war and chaos almost ever since.” (Aljazeera). After attaining independence in 1960, its first president Adam Abdullah Osman ruled for seven years and was democraticaly and freely succeeded by Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, who was later assassinated. Somali’s parliament speaker Mukhtar Hussein who had taken over the rule was overthrown within less than a week by General Siad Barre through a military coup. This event marked the end of Somalia’s democracy and a prelude for the current civil war that has devastated the nation for nearly three decades. Barre’s rule is not void of positive achievements, but his tenure also led to conflicts such as the Ogaden war, and later, the collaboration of Southern and Northern tribes, with immense support from Ethiopia to overthrow his already weakened leadership.
This civil war has had adverse effects on almost all aspects of Somalians, including permanent displacements. First, the Northern tribes unofficially separated themselves from the rest the nation, referring to the region as Somaliland, while the south is majorly ruled by radical groups such as the Al Shabab (Aljazeera). Second, the civil war has greatly contributed to the poor health state and outcomes in Somalia. For instance, Jaffer and Hotez asserts that, “Approximately three million school-aged children require regular and periodic mass treatment for intestinal worms, and 300,000 children require treatment for schistosomiasis.” Humanitarian aid providing related services also finds it difficult to navigate the country because of insecurity and organizations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have since pulled out of Somalia (Jaffer " Hotez). The war has also displaced more than a million people, rendering them refugees in Europe, USA, and Somali’s neighboring countries. Furthermore, this civil conflict disrupted the country’s economic activities like farming and fishing, plummeting it to absolute poverty and impoverishment (Aljazeera).
Besides the need to overthrow Barre’s leadership, there are other contributing factors that continues to exacerbate the civil war, despite numerous international interventions. Chief among these is the lack of a stable political government, which leaves the nation separated and under the rule of radical groups (Aljazeera). In addition, humanitarian and international aid with objectives of unifying the country and ending the war are limited by prevalent insecurity. The existence and tolerance of warlords during peace building strategies and negotiations also impedes successful approaches of ending the war (Hansen). This, therefore, places Somalia at a risk of enduring the war for a long time, characterized by an uncertain future. However, Somali immigrants in the diaspora are still hopeful that the war will end and they will return to rebuild Somalia (Aljazeera).
As aforementioned, several International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGO) continue with their efforts to help the affected, while advocating for the civil war to cease. The World Health Organization (WHO) is among the various INGOs working in Somalia to alleviate health issues majorly caused by the civil war. Through the global citizenship concept, WHO believes that all citizens, and especially those who are disadvantaged require quality healthcare. Therefore, the organization provides vaccinations for preventable diseases, avert the spread of communicable diseases, advocating for crisis and outbreak preparedness, among others (Jaffer " Hotez). Additionally, under the global social movements, individuals can volunteer to assist in this region in areas such as health education, promotion of literacy, and fostering children health.
Works Cited
Hansen, Stig J. "Warlords and Peace Strategies: The Case of Somalia." Journal of Conflict Studies 23.2 (2006).
Jaffer, Annum, and Peter J. Hotez. "Somalia: A nation at the crossroads of extreme poverty, conflict, and neglected tropical diseases." PLoS neglected tropical diseases 10.9 (2016): e0004670.
Somalia: The Forgotten Story. Aljazeera World. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeraworld/2016/10/somalia-forgotten-story-161027115655140.html
