Fadumo brings her heart to work

A decade has passed since Fadumo started working as a community health worker at the Tawfiq Maternal and Child Health Clinic in Baidoa, Somalia. The facility serves internally displaced people—families forced from their homes because of conflict and drought.

Though she’s never resided in a displaced persons camp, Fadumo’s life has been shaped by the same waves of conflict affecting those she now serves. She knows the reality of moving from place to place in search of safety and stability.

Born and raised in Baidoa, the capital city of Somalia’s South West State, Fadumo remembers a good life before the war broke out in 1991. “We were a happy household,” she says. “That’s when everything changed, changed for the worse.”

Since then, it’s been conflict after conflict—a constant state of flux. But this work, which Fadumo has been doing since 2015, brings meaning.

Honouring health workers like Fadumo on World Health Day

World Health Day is celebrated annually on April 7. This year, the theme is maternal and newborn health, with a campaign urging governments and the health community to expand efforts to stop preventable maternal and newborn deaths and prioritize women’s longer-term health and well-being.

The fragile health conditions of Somalia’s displaced women and children weighs heavily on Fadumo.

“It breaks my heart when I see the conditions in which the internally displaced people live, especially as a mother when I see other mothers living such a difficult life,” Fadumo says. Some urgent situations come to mind—like finding women in agony after three days of prolonged labour, and working to urgently get them to the health clinic. “In my line of work, I witness a lot of things that leave me feeling very sad and heartbroken.”

The community health worker role gives Fadumo a sense of fulfillment because it’s a way to help. Three times a week, she’s in the community teaching parents about health and nutrition, spreading awareness about vaccination campaigns, and educating people about services offered. Through her work, attendance at the clinic has increased. Mothers know they can bring their kids for regular health screening—which means malnutrition and other conditions can be caught before it’s too late.

Better health facilities and services through Canadian partnership

Today is distribution day at the clinic. Parents with children who’ve been screened and diagnosed as malnourished are now here to replenish their supplies of ready-to-eat therapeutic food. This nutrient-dense peanut paste is used to treat children with severe acute malnutrition, and it truly saves lives.

The clinic is run by World Vision, with support from Global Affairs Canada. Fadumo explains that the facility has changed over the years—improvements made because of ongoing funding and support. In the past, the structure was makeshift and temporary. There was no seating, and no shade cover, despite the extreme heat.

“The other change I have seen over time is the availability of supplies, both medical and non-medical equipment,” she says. She remembers days when they had no medicine or post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) kits for survivors of sexual violence.

Today, thank God, they are more equipped and better trained. Conditions here are still difficult, and the need is still great, but with the heart and resourcefulness of people like Fadumo and support from willing partners, there is progress to celebrate.

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