Tuesday May 20, 2025 {HMC} Somalia launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Monday to combat measles, polio and pneumonia, targeting more than 3 million children in the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which launched the week-long campaign in collaboration with Somali federal and regional governments, said in a statement that the campaign’s goal is “to protect children and vulnerable communities from deadly preventable diseases” in the Horn of Africa.

The Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) is supporting the campaign, which aims to vaccinate 3.1 million Somali children under the age of five against measles, polio and pneumonia, the statement said.

Somalia continues to face long-standing security challenges, making it difficult to provide vaccines to vulnerable children, according to the WHO.

Polio outbreaks

Since 2014, no poliovirus has been detected in Somalia, and the African continent was declared poliovirus-free in 2020.

However, the WHO reports that the country’s health infrastructure has been devastated by conflict, poverty, and climate crises, and polio strains continue to threaten children.

Part of Somalia, identified by the Global Polio Eradication Programme as one of seven “consequential geographies,” continues to face difficulties in controlling polio outbreaks due to overpopulation, fragile health systems, and ongoing conflict.

In April, Somalia introduced two lifesaving vaccines into its national immunisation programme: pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and rotavirus vaccine, both of which aim to prevent pneumonia and diarrhoea in children.

It said the coordinated effort is a significant step forward in the country’s efforts to reduce the prevalence of measles, pneumonia, and rotavirus-related diarrhoea, which are three of the leading causes of disease and death among Somali children.

Tuesday May 20, 2025 {HMC} The Minister of Interior of Hirshabelle State, Abdi Dahir Guure Karoore, announced that Somali National Army (SNA) troops and local defense fighters have surrounded the strategic town of Aden Yabaal in the Middle Shabelle region and are poised to enter it in the coming hours.

The town has been under Al-Shabaab control in recent days, but government and regional forces are now advancing to retake it, according to Minister Karoore. He emphasized the importance of broader clan unity in the fight against the Al-Qaeda-linked militant group.

“Only one clan is engaged in this current war,” he said, referring to the Hawiye-Hawaadle. “It is time for unity—I call on all clans in Hiiraan to support their brothers and stand firm in the battle against the Khawarij (a term used by Somali officials to refer to Al-Shabaab).”

Minister Karoore was part of a high-level federal and regional delegation that visited Moqokori district in Hiiraan on Monday to boost morale and coordination in the ongoing anti-Al-Shabaab offensive. The delegation included NISA Commander Mohamed Abdullahi Ali Sambaloolshe and members of parliament representing the Hawadle clan.

This comes as the Somali army and local fighters, especially from the Macawisley militias, recently repelled a series of Al-Shabaab attacks, killing more than 70 militants in a 48-hour operation along the Hiiraan–Middle Shabelle border. A large cache of weapons was also seized during the operation, significantly disrupting the group’s operations in central Somalia.

Meanwhile, Wadajir Party leader MP Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame has also called on the Federal Government to urgently provide weapons, supplies, and logistical support to the local fighters on the front lines. He criticized the government for allegedly neglecting the needs of the Macawisley forces and urged greater national commitment to defeating the insurgency.

The intensified military operations and calls for broader clan participation mark a crucial moment in Somalia’s long-running campaign to dislodge Al-Shabaab from its remaining strongholds and restore full government control over the central regions.