11 June 2024, Mogadishu, Somalia – Abdia Adan returns to Garasbaley Health Centre, in the heart of Kahda district, Banadir Region, for her 8-month-old son’s final follow-up at the facility. This visit proves different from her previous encounters as young Mohamed Hussein is now healthier. Abdia visited the health centre with Mohamed in November 2023 when he had a fever and was vomiting. His condition has significantly improved since the doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia and malnutrition, thanks to Abdia’s love and the attentive quality medical care received at the facility.

Living in the Sodonka camp in Kahda, a district in Mogadishu inhabited mainly by people affected by Somalia’s prolonged drought crisis of 2022–2023, Abdia’s family has faced numerous challenges. Her husband’s meagre earnings as a teacher are barely enough to sustain their family of 7. There are more than one million people sharing the fate of being displaced from their areas of origin into internally displaced camps in Mogadishu due to conflict, drought and floods. The living conditions in the camps are harsh, and limited access to basic services, such as water, sanitation, food and health services, increases the risks of disease outbreaks and malnutrition.