In Somalia, virus goes from fairy tale to a nightmare
MOGADISHU, Somalia — At first, the coronavirus was just a fairy tale, a rumor along the dusty lanes of the displaced persons’ camp that Habiba Ali calls home.
It seemed fantastical: an illness sweeping the world far beyond Somalia’s borders, killing thousands of people and sending some of the richest countries into panic.
Then Somalia’s first virus case was announced on March 16, and one of the world’s most fragile nations staggered even more. Nearly three decades of conflict, extremist attacks, drought, disease and a devastating outbreak of locusts have taken a vast toll.
Already vulnerable, millions of Somalis now contemplate a new way to die.
“We have been overcome with an extraordinary fear about the disease,” Ms. Ali said as she worried about her six children. “And we are even avoiding shaking hands with people. Our fear is real, and we are helpless.”
Even as mask-wearing health workers entered her Sayidka camp in the capital, Mogadishu, to demonstrate lathering up with soap and water, some authorities shuddered. Small children mimicked the virus prevention measures, happily covering their mouths with their hands.
Somalia ranked 194th of 195 countries in the Johns Hopkins Global Health Security Index for 2019 and scored zero in several areas, including emergency preparedness, emergency response, infection control practices and health care access.
The country lacks essential equipment for the kind of intensive care that COVID-19 patients, sometimes gasping for breath, desperately need, Health Minister Fawsia Abikar told The Associated Press. Fewer than 20 beds in intensive care units are available.
Somalia also has lacked the capability to test for the new virus, meaning samples are sent abroad and results delayed for more than a week. Quarantine tents have been erected around an old port in Mogadishu. As of Sunday, all international and domestic flights, except for emergency medical and food cargo, have been suspended.
“This is a disease which has overwhelmed more sophisticated health care systems of countries than ours,” President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed warned in a public awareness campaign.
A third virus case was confirmed in recent days. The person infected is a contractor for the United Nations at the heavily fortified compound at the international airport where many diplomats and aid groups are based.
Somalia’s fate also depends on a more dangerous authority: the al-Qaidalinked al-Shabab extremist group that controls or holds sway in parts of the central and southern regions.
Al-Shabab often strikes in the heart of the capital with suicide bombs. Chances for infection also exist along major roads in Somalia, where the group operates a system of forced taxation.