THT-Voluntary activist based in Odweyne region was alarmed when he suspected the onset of two notifiable diseases, measles being one, seen in rural areas, hence promptly informed SRCS headquarters.
“Immediately thereafter, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, a response team was dispatched to the said area”, said SRCS Somaliland Executive Director Ahmed Bakaal.
Mr. Bakal who was giving an exclusive interview to the THT reporter Mohamoud Walaaleye in his office noted that luckily the Somaliland Red Crescent Society have Community Based Surveillance and Epidemic Preparedness and Response project that operate in Togdheer covering 55 communities.
He elaborated that 131 community volunteers (67 in Burao, 32 volunteers for each Odweine and Ainabo districts) actively report any health risks that arises as concerns acute diarrheal diseases, measles, unusual event and malnutrition within their communities.
SRCS Somaliland is a humanitarian voluntary and non-political organization. It works on assisting the most vulnerable people and victims of disaster, and current programs include Health & Nutrition, First Aid, and Rehabilitation of the Disabled people, Resilience Youth & Volunteer & more and have branches throughout the country, like Lasanod branch of Sool region, Erigavo branch of Sanaag region, Berbera branch of Sahil region, Burao branch of Togdher, Hargeisa branch of Marodijeh and Borama branch of Awdal
SRCS Somaliland with the support of German Red Cross is implementing two long term projects, funded (BMZ & MOFA) that aims at strengthening the resilience people in disaster risk reduction and climate change, water and sanitation, livelihood, hygiene promotion and cash distribution in all regions, said Director Bakaal, admiring German RC and funding agencies.
On health and nutrition programs, SRCS Somaliland manages 16 static clinics and 15 mobile clinic teams, operate throughout country supported by IFRC (Finish, Swedish & Islandic), UNICEF, while ICRC runs one clinic in Eastern Sanaag, and those Health facilities operate throughout the country from regions to district up to village level and provide health care services to the mother and children of their respective locations.
SRCS Somaliland Hargeisa Coordination Office recently underwent Preparedness for Effective Response (PER) assessment to evaluate National Society preparedness and response system. The PER assessment focused on the National Society’s recent responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and the desert locust emergency
On Youth and Volunteer Management, SRCS Somaliland activity was started in 2009 throughout the regions in Somaliland with the support of the German Red Cross. The project which is supported by the IFRC aims at improving and strengthening the youth capacity by providing trainings and other necessary skills to the youth in Somaliland, though, these projects faces financial challenges due to shortage of funds.
SRCS manages Rehabilitation Centre in Hargeisa with the support of the Norwegian Red Cross Society, and which provided the much needed Orthopedic and physiotherapy services to the physically disabled persons in the country, since its establishment in 1996,
Community Based Surveillance and Epidemic Preparedness Response is supported by the Norwegian Red Cross and Canadian Red Cross and runs 3 regions (Togdeer, Sool and Awdal) while PGI is supported by the Icelandic Red Cross.
If such implementations were not realized, the prompt notice and subsequent actions on combating the said malaise in Odweine or elsewhere would not have been achieved hence have been overwhelmingly successful. The SRCS reckon to expand and widen the efforts of establishing such networks in the whole country.
Restoring Family links program, which is part of SRCS Somaliland programs include helps people in Somaliland re-establish contact with close family members after separation due to armed conflicts, natural disasters and other humanitarian crisis. They have been providing tracing services since 1987 with support to ICRC, and established new RFL offices in Badan and at the border towns of Buuhoodle, Lawya Ado and Zeila to support refugee influx from Ethiopia that are crossing the border between Somaliland and Djibouti.
RFL also provide support to the Yemen refugees and established a temporary office at the reception camp in Berbera city.
SRCS Somaliland has been praised for making the most useable of the limited project funds it receives. In fact, according to Mr. Bakal a donor was so impressed that he coaxed the society to make use of some funds whose timeline was in three months expiry bracket; funds they happily used to acquire direly needed ambulances.
The Executive Director pledged his readiness to make of use any such funds towards the needs of those areas where communities need rapid services hence thanked the donors for the benevolence.
He underlined that they are very fond of projects that have sustainability and regeneration hence endearing the donors to the communities even more.
To sum up, SRCS Somaliland have fulfilled monumental tasks through magnificent efforts centered on accountability, diligence and integrity.
By: Mohamoud Walaaleye