WHO · UNICEF · UN IGME 2024← All Countries

🇸🇴

Maternal & Child Mortality
in Somalia

East Africa · #3 of 30 worst globally

Child Deaths Since Jan 1, 2026

0

93 per 1,000 live births · Somalia

Deaths at Birth Today

0

est. newborns today

Infant Mortality Rate

93.0

per 1,000 · 3.4× world avg

Maternal Mortality Rate

621

per 100,000 · 3.2× world avg

East Africa

Birth Mortality Crisis

Mothers & Newborns
Dying in Somalia
During Childbirth

621 maternal deaths per 100,000 — a Somali woman faces a 1 in 22 lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes.

Newborn & Infant Mortality

93.0deaths per 1,000 live births

3.4× the world average

Maternal Mortality During Birth

621deaths per 100,000 live births

3.2× the world average

👶

Newborn & Child Deaths During Birth in Somalia

Somalia has experienced continuous civil war since 1991 with no functioning national health system. Vaccination coverage is below 30% nationally. 1 in 5 Somali children is acutely malnourished.

Limited progress from a very high baseline. Pockets of improvement exist in Mogadishu and Somaliland.

Leading Causes of Child Death at Birth

Neonatal causes29%

Pneumonia20%

Diarrheal diseases17%

Measles & vaccine-preventable10%

Malaria9%

Other15%

* Neonatal deaths (first 28 days) represent the largest share of under-5 mortality.

What Happens in the Delivery Room

🏥

Births in a health facility~77%

estimated — lower in conflict/rural areas

👩‍⚕️

Skilled birth attendant present~31%

doctor, midwife or trained nurse

⚠️

Neonatal deaths (first 28 days)48%

of all under-5 deaths occur at birth

🩸

Most preventable with skilled care~75%

of child and maternal deaths

🤱

Maternal Mortality During Birth in Somalia

Only 9% of births are attended by a skilled birth attendant — one of the lowest rates globally. FGM prevalence is ~98%, contributing to obstructed labour and fistula. Al-Shabaab actively restricts health services.

Minimal improvement over the past decade. International NGOs provide the majority of maternal health services.

Causes of Death During Labour & Delivery

Haemorrhage31%

Obstructed labour / fistula19%

Sepsis18%

Eclampsia15%

Unsafe abortion9%

Other8%

* Haemorrhage and eclampsia together cause over 50% of deaths — both are treatable with basic skilled care.

Why Mothers Die at Birth Here

🩺

Emergency obstetric care availableLimited

few facilities can manage haemorrhage

🩸

Blood transfusion accessCritical gap

haemorrhage kills within 2 hours

💊

Magnesium sulphate (eclampsia)Often absent

costs $1 — saves lives instantly

✅

If skilled care were universal~75% fewer deaths

WHO estimate for this mortality level

⚠️

Why Is This Still Happening?

Structural Barriers to Safe Birth in Somalia

Continuous armed conflict since 1991

Near-complete collapse of the state health system

Near-universal FGM (98%) causing obstetric complications

2.9 million internally displaced persons

Al-Shabaab restricting health worker access

🎯

SDG 3 Progress Assessment

Rebuilding Somalia's health infrastructure requires sustained peace and a decade of intensive investment.

💡

Prevention & Solutions

How Can We Prevent This in Somalia?

📍 The Situation

Somalia has one of the lowest skilled birth attendance rates in the world — estimated at below 30% nationally, and far lower in conflict-affected areas. The country lacks a functioning national health system in large areas, and the majority of health services are delivered by NGOs, community health workers, and informal traditional birth attendants.

🔬 How Ultrasound Helps

In Somalia's context, the most impactful use of portable ultrasound is gestational age assessment and fetal position screening at community level. Many Somali women do not access antenatal care until late in pregnancy or not at all. A handheld POCUS device allows a community health worker to perform a rapid assessment during a home visit — identifying twins, malpresentations, and placenta previa that would otherwise be discovered only at the moment of delivery.

🎓 The Training Gap

Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) attend a significant proportion of deliveries in Somalia. Task-shifting POCUS skills to existing nurses and midwives within NGO health networks — GUSI's OB POCUS fellowship model is well-suited here — can create trained ultrasonographers within months rather than years.

What a trained provider can detect with a portable ultrasound device

🩸Placenta previa

🔄Malpresentation

👥Twin pregnancy

📉Fetal growth restriction

⚡Pre-eclampsia markers

🫁Childhood pneumonia

💉Internal bleeding

🧠Hydrocephalus

🧮

Interactive Model

POCUS Impact Calculator — Somalia

Model based on: 600 scans/provider/year · 15% high-risk detection rate · 47% mortality reduction for detected cases (Swanson et al. 2014 · WHO POCUS in LMICs review)

Number of POCUS-trained providers deployed in Somalia50

1 provider250500 providers

Scans per Year

30,000

pregnant women screened

High-Risk Detected

4,500

flagged for referral / intervention

Maternal Deaths Prevented

42

mothers saved per year

Newborn Deaths Prevented

75

babies saved per year

Total Lives Saved Per Year

117deaths prevented

2.3

lives per provider

$212

est. cost per life saved

$24,750

total training investment

* This calculator uses a conservative evidence-based model. Actual impact varies by deployment context, provider experience, and health system capacity. Training cost based on GUSI OB POCUS Essentials (~$495/provider). Mortality reduction from peer-reviewed POCUS implementation studies in low-resource settings.

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Technology & Education

A Practical Plan to Bring POCUS to Somalia

🗺️ Deployment Roadmap for Somalia

Baseline assessment — map existing facilities, referral pathways, blood supply, and available midwives, nurses, and physicians who could be trained.
Provider training — enrol local champions in GUSI's OB POCUS Essentials + Pediatric POCUS courses. Certify a core group to train others.
Device procurement — select appropriate portable handheld devices based on power infrastructure, connectivity, and budget (see brands below).
Protocols & referral integration — define what to scan, what findings trigger referral, and how to document scans at the point of care.
Quality assurance — regular image review sessions, outcomes tracking, and refresher training to maintain competency.

📡 Recommended Portable Ultrasound Devices

🦋 Butterfly iQ+

Website →

Single-probe whole-body device covering OB, cardiac, lung, and FAST exams. App-based platform with built-in AI guidance. Designed for low-resource environments — charges via USB and works with any smartphone.

🔵 Philips Lumify

Website →

App-based probe that plugs into Android phones. Multiple transducer heads available for OB and point-of-care use. Widely used in GUSI-supported training programs globally.

🟢 GE Vscan Air

Website →

Wireless, pocket-sized dual-probe handheld. Streams live images to a smartphone app. Excellent battery life — purpose-built for rapid bedside OB and FAST-style assessments.

🔷 Clarius HD3

Website →

High-resolution wireless handheld. Multiple probe configurations available. Strong image quality in a compact form factor — suitable for OB, lung, and neonatal scanning.

Global Ultrasound Institute · GUSI

The training that closes the gap — built for providers in settings like Somalia

GUSI trains physicians, nurses, midwives, and community health workers in Point-of-Care Ultrasound. Courses are designed from the ground up for providers in resource-limited settings — short, practical, competency-based, and available online or in person. Every course maps directly to the conditions killing mothers and babies during childbirth.