This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
June 18, 2020
Somalia's displaced camps, hosting over 2.6 million people, are at risk of undetected Covid-19 spread, the Red Cross warned on Tuesday.
Recent floods in central Somalia have forced nearly 500,000 people from their homes, adding to the pressure on the country's 2,000 camps, which have been plagued by conflict since 1991.
"We are concerned that many Covid cases are going undetected, especially in the internal displaced camps," said Ana Maria Guzman, health coordinator for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
According to Johns Hopkins University, Somalia has recorded over 2,600 coronavirus cases and about 90 deaths.
Aid workers fear the virus could spread undetected in the camps, where maintaining a safe distance and regular hand-washing are a challenge, particularly in the capital Mogadishu, which hosts over 800,000 displaced people.
Government officials, however, claim that no Covid-19 cases have been registered at the camps in Mogadishu, and that the government has taken measures to curb the virus and raise awareness among internally displaced people.
Impoverished Somalia regularly suffers from prolonged droughts and flash floods, threatening people's livelihoods and worsening hunger amid ongoing conflict between the government and the militant group al-Shabaab.
Most internally displaced people live in congested camps in towns and cities across Somalia, dependent on daily wage labor and with limited access to quality healthcare and sanitation services.
