Just 10 days after giving birth to twins at home in Diinsoor in Somalia’s Bay district , Aisha* began experiencing heavy, potentially life-threatening bleeding, and the hospital where she had safely delivered her previous children was no longer operational. 

With limited health care available in their community, Aisha’s husband urgently borrowed money and drove five hours through the night to reach the Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)-supported Bay Regional Hospital in Baidoa, one of the few facilities offering free, quality maternal and pediatric care. Medical teams quickly stabilized Aisha, successfully treating her severe bleeding.

Stories like Aisha’s are all too common across Somalia’s Southwest state, where women and children often travel hundreds of miles seeking lifesaving medical care. Those unable to afford the journey face severe consequences.