Jump to content

COVID-19 pandemic in Somaliland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

COVID-19 pandemic in Somaliland
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationSomaliland
First outbreakWuhan,Hubei,China
Arrival date31 March 2020
(4 years, 2 months, 2 weeks and 3 days)
Confirmed cases3,946 (as of 20 April 2021)
Recovered2,781 (as of 20 April 2021)
Deaths
247 (as of 20 April 2021)
Government website
https://somalilandcovid19.com/

TheCOVID-19 pandemicwas confirmed to have reachedSomalilandin March 2020. As of 16 August 2021, there are 4703 cases and 319 deaths. 68,206testshave been conducted.[1]

Background[edit]

Somaliland is an unrecognized country in theHorn of Africa.Its diplomatic isolation has made economic development difficult and caused the healthcare system to lag behind. Yet despite that it has been successful in taking a proactive approach to the crisis. After the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a global health emergency, MOHD established a National Task Force to coordinate efforts in early detection, surveillance,risk communicationand infection control. In addition, the president, minister of religious affairs, and minister of education all worked together on emergency response efforts. Religious authorities have used Friday sermons to disseminate information further. The cross-collaboration was key to stemming local spread and ensuring a unified response. It also serves as a model not only for the Horn of Africa, but also in the Middle East. In Iran and Iraq, after all, lack of coordination with religious authorities enabled the virus to spread broadly; Somaliland had no such disconnect. ICU beds are limited, as is other medical equipment. However, theWorld Health Organizationdoes collaborate with the Somaliland government.[2]

Timeline[edit]

March[edit]

On March 31, theHealth Minister of Somalilandannounced that the government confirmed the first two cases of coronavirus in Somaliland,[3]these two people were among the three suspects who were quarantined by Ministry of Health and had their DNA sent abroad for testing.[4]

There is anecdotal evidence from villagers of a flu-like illness circulating in Somaliland from late March 2020, the likes of which they have never seen before; however, the villagers stated there were no deaths.[citation needed]

April[edit]

In a presidential decree due to coronavirus fears,Muse Bihi Abdiordered the stateAttorney Generalto release 574 inmates throughout Somaliland territories.[5]

The first five confirmed cases were reported by 20 April.[6]The following week one more case was confirmed.[7]

May to August[edit]

By 18 May there had been 121 confirmed cases and nine deaths.[8]Ten days later the total numbers were 225 confirmed cases and 16 deaths.[9]

September to December[edit]

By mid-September there had been 934 confirmed cases and 31 deaths.[10]

By 25 October, there had been 1077 confirmed cases and 36 deaths.[11]

By 15 December there had been more than 1200 confirmed cases and 42 deaths.[12]

January to March[edit]

By 8 February there had been 1430 confirmed cases.[13]By 26 February the number of confirmed cases had grown to 1603.[14]

Prevention[edit]

Minister of HealthOmar Ali Abdillahicreated a National Task Force to respond to the pandemic.[2]

Schools and office-based businesses were closed, social events and gatherings prohibited, and flights and travel restricted. The government issued guidelines effective for one month starting from 19 March 2020.Khatchewing establishments were ordered closed, and special guidance was issued for mosques.[15]An initial government decision to close mosques for four weeks was rescinded after pressure from religious leaders.[16]Entry was banned for flights and people fromChina,Iran,Italy,France,Kenya,Somalia,South Korea,andSpain.However, flights to and from Ethiopia continued atEgal International AirportinHargeisa,as Somaliland's only link to the rest of the world.[17]

In April 2020, the Hargeisa municipality evicted 289 households from the Gobanimo Market and26 June Districtto enforce social distancing measures in congested areas.[18]

On 20 May, theMinistry of Education and Scienceannounced that the end-of-year academic examinations for students from grades 1 to 11 would be cancelled, with those students instead evaluated on their performance in the last three terms, but that the secondary school final examination of July 2020 would proceed as planned with preventive measures taken.[19]

The health ministry has taken steps to educate the public about the virus.[2]

PresidentMuse Bihi Abdipardoned 574 prisoners and ordered them released, in order to control the spread of the virus.[20]

On 31 January 2022, Somaliland received 150,000 doses ofMVC COVID-19 vaccinedonation from Taiwan.[21]

Reception[edit]

American historianMichael Rubinpraised Somaliland's effectiveness in controlling the virus despite its diplomatic isolation and lack of international assistance, drawing a comparison with theCOVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan.[22]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Ministry of Health Development Somaliland".Archivedfrom the original on 30 December 2021.Retrieved17 August2021.
  2. ^abc"UNPO: Coronavirus: Somaliland strives alone".unpo.org.Archivedfrom the original on 6 April 2020.Retrieved6 April2020.
  3. ^"Somaliland Confirms 2 Covid-19 Cases".MENAFN.Archivedfrom the original on 5 April 2020.Retrieved31 March2020.
  4. ^"Dawladda Somaliland oo Shaacisay laba qof oo laga helay Cudurka Covid-19".Wargeyska Dawan(in Somali).Archivedfrom the original on 5 April 2020.Retrieved31 March2020.
  5. ^"COVID-19: Somaliland releases 574 prisoners".AA.1 April 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 6 April 2020.Retrieved3 April2020.
  6. ^"Somalia: COVID-19 impact update 2"(PDF).OCHA. 20 April 2020. p. 1.Archived(PDF)from the original on 9 January 2021.Retrieved23 January2021.
  7. ^"Somalia: COVID-19 impact update 3"(PDF).OCHA. 26 April 2020. p. 1.Archived(PDF)from the original on 30 January 2021.Retrieved23 January2021.
  8. ^"Somalia: COVID-19 impact update 6"(PDF).OCHA. 18 May 2020. p. 2.Archived(PDF)from the original on 22 May 2021.Retrieved23 January2021.
  9. ^"Somalia: COVID-19 impact update 7"(PDF).OCHA. 28 May 2020. p. 1.Archived(PDF)from the original on 29 January 2021.Retrieved23 January2021.
  10. ^"Somalia: COVID-19 impact update 12"(PDF).OCHA. 21 September 2020. p. 1.Archived(PDF)from the original on 10 October 2020.Retrieved23 January2021.
  11. ^"Somalia: COVID-19 impact update 13"(PDF).OCHA. 25 October 2020. p. 1.Archived(PDF)from the original on 22 January 2021.Retrieved23 January2021.
  12. ^Habib, Jacky (22 December 2020)."Meet the doctor coordinating Somaliland's COVID-19 response".Global Citizen.Archivedfrom the original on 22 April 2021.Retrieved23 January2021.
  13. ^Dhaysane, Mohammed (9 February 2021)."Is Somalia ignoring coronavirus pandemic?".Anadolu Agency.Archivedfrom the original on 10 March 2021.Retrieved24 March2021.
  14. ^"Somalia contemplates lockdown as COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc".Garowe Online.1 March 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 26 May 2021.Retrieved26 May2021.
  15. ^"Somaliland: Country Goes on High Covid-19 Alert, Establishes Stringent Virus Preventive..."menafn.com.Archivedfrom the original on 5 April 2020.Retrieved20 March2020.
  16. ^"Somaliland and COVID-19: Emerging Issues and Economic Impact".23 April 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 23 June 2021.Retrieved6 October2020.
  17. ^"Somaliland: Why We Still Allow Flights by Ethiopian Airlines and Continued Khat..."menafn.com.Archivedfrom the original on 6 April 2020.Retrieved6 April2020.
  18. ^https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/FGS%20FMS%20directives_Update%205%20final_eo%204.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  19. ^"Overview of COVID-19 directives, 30 May 2020".ReliefWeb.1 June 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 16 November 2022.Retrieved13 June2024.
  20. ^"COVID-19: Somaliland releases 574 prisoners".www.aa.com.tr.Archivedfrom the original on 6 April 2020.Retrieved6 April2020.
  21. ^"Taiwan's donation of Medigen COVID-19 vaccines arrives in Somaliland".Archivedfrom the original on 31 January 2022.Retrieved31 January2022.
  22. ^"How Taiwan and Somaliland are managing COVID19 without international aid".East African Business Week.28 April 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2020.Retrieved15 May2020.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=COVID-19_pandemic_in_Somaliland&oldid=1229613843"