By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
MOGADISHU, 27 September 2026 Somalia's Ministry of Health and Human Services has reviewed achievements, unfinished work and lessons of the World Bank-financed Damal Caafimaad project as it plans a larger next phase.
The review meeting was held on Saturday in Mogadishu.
Damal Caafimaad coordinator Dr. Abdi Kamil Ali Salad said participants needed to identify why some planned activities had not been completed. He said recommendations from the meeting would contribute to discussions about a future project larger than the current one.
"The next project … will be a long-term one with different phases," Dr. Abdi Kamil said. He added that those phases could prioritize the continued delivery of health services and improvements to health facilities.
State Minister for Health Dr. Maryan Mohamed Hussein asked participants to identify needs that the project had not addressed. She said those lessons would be important in planning continued services, particularly for mothers and children.
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"The people we are working for are mothers and children," Dr. Maryan said, citing nutrition, vaccination and birth-spacing services available through maternal and child health centres.
Damal Caafimaad is implemented by the Somali government and financed by the World Bank. It aims to expand access to essential health and nutrition services in the areas where it operates and strengthen the capacity of health ministries to oversee those services.
The project was approved in 2021, when the World Bank announced $100 million in grants for it.
The Mogadishu meeting brought together officials from the federal government, federal member states and the Banaadir regional administration, alongside civil society organizations and health partners.