UN Report Disputes Minister Ali Haji's Statement on the Health Situation in Somalia

The Minister of Health of Somalia, Ali Haji, who appeared yesterday before the Social Services Development Committee of the House of the People of the BJFS, spoke about the health situation in the country; however, the claims he made before the Committee are strongly contradicted by data released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The Minister boasted that the health situation in Somalia is at its best, stating that since January of this year, more than 600 health facilities or services have been saved from the risk of closure due to lack of funding.

However, OCHA's data presents a completely different picture from the Minister's claims regarding the actual health situation in the country.

A report released by OCHA on September 22, 2026, stated that between January and August 2026, 495 health facilities in Somalia closed, affected by financial constraints and a decline in funding for health services.

Of those, 380 were official facilities that had been operating regularly, but due to financial difficulties, most of them were closed, while others significantly reduced their staff and the health services they provided to the community. Additionally, 115 mobile facilities, as stated by OCHA, completely shut down, cutting off health services for people living in remote rural areas and hard-to-reach regions.

When comparing the statements of the Minister of Health and the data from the United Nations agency, a major question arises: How can it be claimed that the health situation in the country is at its best, while hundreds of health centers have closed, and others have reduced the services they used to provide to the community?

This question is further intensified as the Minister previously stated before the Committee that there has been significant health progress, while OCHA's data indicates that lack of funding has led to essential health services being halted or declining.

Another issue that strengthens the suspicion surrounding the Minister's claims is the request he made during the meeting, which was to remove independent media from the venue so that the meeting would not be recorded.

This action raised questions regarding the transparency of the meeting and why the Minister wanted the Somali public not to directly receive the discussions and questions that the Committee was asking about the health situation in the country.

It is worth noting that when discussing public health, the reality in health facilities cannot be ignored, especially when official data from a United Nations agency shows that hundreds of health centers have closed.

The Somali people do not deserve to be kept in the dark about the reality of the health services they depend on for their lives. Likewise, a critical health situation should not be portrayed differently from how it actually is in the country.

Health is not a political issue that can be beautified with numbers or responsible statements; it is a service that directly impacts the lives and safety of the Somali people.

If health centers close, staff are reduced, services are downgraded, and people living in remote areas lose the healthcare services they relied on, the public has the right to be clearly informed about what happened and the reasons behind it.

The Somali people are awaiting open information, accountability, and real action to save the country's healthcare services.