Qatar Red Crescent's (QRC) Office in Somalia has opened a new therapeutic nutrition center at the Badbaado refugee camp in Dharkenley District, southwestern Mogadishu, Somalia, at a total cost of nearly QR 500,000.
The health project will provide medical and therapeutic nutrition services for severely and mildly malnourished patients, particularly children, and treat different types of malnutrition in accordance with the international standards and the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Most displaced children at the Badbaado camp are malnourished.
The new center comprises a medical clinic and a kitchen to serve nutritious meals to malnourished children and their mothers as well. It is expected to help around 7,500 malnourished children at the Badbaado camp, which is one of the largest refugee camps in the capital, accommodating more than 4,000 families displaced from the southern parts of the country due to the drought and clashes.
The opening ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Dharkenley District, Adam Mohamed Omar, representative of the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS), Ali Sheikh, representative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Office in Somalia, Elias Mohamed Al-Sheikh, Director of the Physicians Across Continents (PAC) Office in Somalia, Mohamed Shafie Al-Badawi, representatives of the Somali Ministry of Health, and local community leaders and members.
In his keynote speech, Omar said, "On behalf of Dharkenley District and myself, I would like to thank QRC for executing this significant project that will be beneficial for the displaced people at the Badbaado camp, who suffer bad conditions and lack health services. I call upon the Islamic and international organizations to follow suit and lend a hand to those displaced people by launching health and development projects for them." The newly opened Badbaado therapeutic nutrition center is another episode of QRC's health activities in Somalia, which include operating Afgooye Public Hospital, the specialist center for tropical diseases, Mareerey and Awdheegle health centers in Lower Shabelle, and Balad health center in Central Shabelle. QRC Office in Somalia is preparing to open another therapeutic nutrition center in the Banaadir region, southeastern Somalia, to control the increasing malnutrition rates at refugee camps.