Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has closed all medical programmes in Somalia following a series of attacks and abduction of aid workers.

The humanitarian organisation, which has worked in the country since the start of civil war in the country in 1991, cited “extreme attacks” by armed groups and it accused civilian leaders of condoning, the killing, assaulting, and abducting of humanitarian aid workers.

MSF’s international president Unni Karunakara said the leaders’ actions and tolerance of the environment effectively cut off hundreds of thousands of Somali civilians from humanitarian aid.

“In some cases, the same actors—particularly but not exclusively in south central Somalia—with whom MSF must negotiate minimum guarantees to respect its medical humanitarian mission, have played a role in the abuses against MSF staff, either through direct involvement or tacit approval,” he said while making the announcement.

The most recent incidents include the brutal killing of two MSF staff in Mogadishu in December 2011 and the subsequent early release of the convicted killer; and the violent abduction of two staff in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya that ended only last month after a 21-month captivity in south central Somalia.

“These two incidents are just the latest in a series of extreme abuses. Fourteen other MSF staff members have been killed, and the organisation has experienced dozens of attacks on its staff, ambulances, and medical facilities since 1991,” the MSF boss said in his statement.

Besides offering humanitarian assistance over its 22-year history in Somalia, MSF has negotiated with armed actors and authorities.

MSF will be closing its medical programmes across Somalia, including in the capital Mogadishu and the suburbs of Afgooyeand Daynille, as well as in Balad, Dinsor, Galkayo, Jilib, Jowhar, Kismayo, Marere, and Burao.

More than 1,500 staff provided a range of services, including free basic healthcare, malnutrition treatment, maternal health, surgery, epidemic response, immunisation campaigns, water, and relief supplies.

In 2012 alone, MSF teams provided more than 624,000 medical consultations, admitted 41,100 patients to hospitals, cared for 30,090 malnourished children, vaccinated 58,620 people, and delivered 7,300 babies.

“Ultimately, civilians in Somalia will pay the highest cost,” said Dr Karunakara. “Much of the Somali population has never known the country without war or famine. Already receiving far less assistance than is needed, the armed groups’ targeting of humanitarian aid and civilians leaders’ tolerance of these abuses has effectively taken away what little access to medical care is available to the Somali people.”

He added that beyond the killings, abductions, and abuses against its staff operating in Somalia, MSF had to take the exceptional measure of utilising armed guards, which it does not do in any other country.

Also, they were forced to tolerate extreme limits on its ability to independently assess and respond to the needs of the population.

“We are ending our programmes in Somalia because the situation in the country has created an untenable imbalance between the risks and compromises our staff must make, and our ability to provide assistance to the Somali people,” Dr Karunakara said.

Source: Nationmedia

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  2. MSF FORCED TO CLOSE ALL MEDICAL PROGRAMMES IN SOMALIA :

    PRESS RELEASE:

    NAIROBI/GENEVA, August 14, 2013 — After working continuously in Somalia since 1991, the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today announced the closure of all its programmes in Somalia, the result of extreme attacks on its staff in an environment where armed groups and civilian leaders increasingly support, tolerate, or condone the killing, assaulting, and abducting of humanitarian aid workers.

    In some cases, the same actors—particularly but not exclusively in south central Somalia—with whom MSF must negotiate minimum guarantees to respect its medical humanitarian mission, have played a role in the abuses against MSF staff, either through direct involvement or tacit approval. Their actions and tolerance of this environment effectively cuts off hundreds of thousands of Somali civilians from humanitarian aid, MSF said.

    Over its 22-year history in Somalia, MSF has negotiated with armed actors and authorities on all sides. The exceptional humanitarian needs in the country have pushed the organisation and its staff to tolerate unparalleled levels of risk – much of it borne by MSF’s Somali colleagues — and to accept serious compromises to its operational principles of independence and impartiality.

    The most recent incidents include the brutal killing of two MSF staff in Mogadishu in December 2011 and the subsequent early release of the convicted killer; and the violent abduction of two staff in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya that ended only last month after a 21-month captivity in south central Somalia. These two incidents are just the latest in a series of extreme abuses. Fourteen other MSF staff members have been killed, and the organisation has experienced dozens of attacks on its staff, ambulances, and medical facilities since 1991.

    “In choosing to kill, attack, and abduct humanitarian aid workers, these armed groups, and the civilian authorities who tolerate their actions, have sealed the fate of countless lives in Somalia,” said Dr. Unni Karunakara, MSF’s international president. “We are ending our programmes in Somalia because the situation in the country has created an untenable imbalance between the risks and compromises our staff must make, and our ability to provide assistance to the Somali people.”

    Beyond the killings, abductions, and abuses against its staff, operating in Somalia meant MSF had to take the exceptional measure of utilizing armed guards, which it does not do in any other country, and to tolerate extreme limits on its ability to independently assess and respond to the needs of the population.

    Humanitarian action requires a minimum level of recognition of the value of medical humanitarian work, and therefore the acceptance by all warring parties and communities to allow the provision of medical assistance, as well as the operational principles of independence and impartiality. Furthermore, these actors must demonstrate the capacity and willingness to uphold negotiated minimum security guarantees for patients and staff. This acceptance, always fragile in conflict zones, no longer exists in Somalia today.

    “Ultimately, civilians in Somalia will pay the highest cost,” said Dr. Karunakara. “Much of the Somali population has never known the country without war or famine. Already receiving far less assistance than is needed, the armed groups’ targeting of humanitarian aid and civilians leaders’ tolerance of these abuses has effectively taken away what little access to medical care is available to the Somali people.”

    MSF will be closing its medical programmes across Somalia, including in the capital Mogadishu and the suburbs of Afgooye and Daynille, as well as in Balad, Dinsor, Galkayo, Jilib, Jowhar, Kismayo, Marere, and Burao. More than 1,500 staff provided a range of services, including free primary health care, malnutrition treatment, maternal health, surgery, epidemic response, immunization campaigns, water, and relief supplies. In 2012 alone, MSF teams provided more than 624,000 medical consultations, admitted 41,100 patients to hospitals, cared for 30,090 malnourished children, vaccinated 58,620 people, and delivered 7,300 babies.

    Throughout its 22-year history in Somalia, MSF staff have known intimately just how great the needs are of the Somali population. While MSF remains committed to addressing these tremendous needs through medical care and humanitarian assistance, all actors in Somalia must demonstrate through their actions a willingness and ability to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Somali people and respect for the safety of the humanitarian aid workers who risk their lives to care for them.

    -ENDS-
    –
    Heather Pagano
    Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
    Regional Information Officer (Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia)
    Chaka Place, 3rd Floor
    Tel: +254 (0) 722 513 981
    msf-nairobi-press@msf.org

  4. It's always the case where a viod is left something else fills the gab. MSF has been doing a great job but it seems they haven't distinguished between where the risk is more likely to materialise and where it's not.

    Anyway, you cannot be holly dependent on outside help and not protect those who are involved in delivering such a vital services to people.

    • They always concentrate where they are not wanted, thus raising suspicions about their presence. Look at the way they are associating Marere with Burao.

      These people are just doing a disservice and nobody will miss their lies; good riddance and dont come back. I better work with people who respect me than those who call me names that I dont deserve like Zoomalia.

      • You must be diluted Marere have more value then Burao in terms of economy, Marere use to have first sugar factory in Somalia rich soil abandon agricultural land.

        AID agencies usually work where needed the most stable can look after themselves understood.

  5. MSF is a good humanitarian organization that delivers healing, I guess, but it can't be wholly free from the misguided macro management of the so called International Community who decided to their foolishness that Somalia as a whole is one hellhole entity and no distinction at all or merit.

    Ok that is fine with me, but Somaliland’s response should be in this instance to MSF must be swift and like this, “IF YOU LEAVE SOMALILAND ON YOUR OWN FOR TROUBLES IT MET IN SOUTHERN SOMALIA, IT WOULD NOT COME BACK TO SOMALILAND EVER AGAIN PERIOD!" Somaliland worked so hard to maintain the safety and security of all people in its soil, citizen or otherwise.

    I wish I knew that ignorant policy makers, who failed to recognize the effort and the hard work of more than 30,000 securities personal in Somaliland.
    If I knew I would have tell him to resign for not causing further suffering to humanity.
    Long live Somaliland as always!