Somalia, 4 November 2025 — Doctor Sumait Hospital in Mogadishu has inaugurated a new Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) to treat critically ill children, in a move health officials say will help address severe gaps in specialized child-care services in Somalia.
The unit includes five fully-equipped ICU beds and provides round-the-clock emergency services, including a paediatric outpatient wing for evening cases.
Hospital officials said the expansion is designed to save more children like Ismail — a young boy who spent a month in intensive care and has now recovered.
“My son stayed here for a month in a very critical condition. Now, Alhamdulillah, he is healthy again,” said his mother, Halimo Abdile Mohamed.
Dr. Fartun Abdullaahi, the hospital’s medical director, said the facility is equipped to handle severe pediatric emergencies.
“We have five beds, each with its own critical-care equipment. Our goal is to stabilize and save children in life-threatening condition, God willing,” she said.
Somalia faces one of the highest under-five mortality rates in the world, and paediatric specialists say the new unit will help reduce preventable deaths.
Pediatrician Dr. Ali Mohamed So’dal said the center could make a significant impact in Somalia's health sector.
“We hope this will help reduce the extremely high child mortality rate in Somalia, especially among children under five,” he said.
Officials from Erdogan Hospital, one of the few facilities previously offering pediatric ICU services, said the new unit will help reduce the heavy case load previously handled by their facility.
“This gives us an additional option so we can send critical patients elsewhere,” said Dr. Mohamed Hussein Ashraf, Director-General of Digfeer Hospital.
Somalia remains among countries with the highest child-mortality burden globally, but health experts say new specialized facilities will help improve survival rates and reduce pressure on the health system.