Somalia struggling with health crisis

After almost a decade of being in power, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia is still struggling to produce an effective plan to provide the people’s basic needs, Press TV reports. “Every Somali has the right to proper health, regardless of their financial position. Health is a major factor and it is a must that the poor people get access to proper medical services, and therefore the government must play an active role in the health sector,” Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said. Somalia’s healthcare system was among other sectors which suffered after the collapse of the central government more than two decades ago. The war-torn African nation is also struggling in other areas such as education and housing. The TFG which was formed back in 2004, has now decided to regain control of the Somali healthcare system and plans to implement free service to the needy and the poor across the country. “My child is sick. The common diseases affecting children here in Somalia is caused by poor sanitation,” a Somali woman said. Thousands, mostly children, continue to die because of preventable diseases. Somalia also faces a serious shortage of hospitals. The weak Western-backed transitional government in Mogadishu has been battling al-Shabab fighters for the past five years and is propped up by a 12,000-strong African Union force from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti. Somalia is generating one of the highest numbers of refugees and internally displaced people in the world. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.