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NAIROBI — The Somali government has urged international donors to better align their financial and logistical support with national priorities, following the conclusion of a health financing conference held in Nairobi aimed at strengthening and sustaining Somalia’s health system.
The multi-day conference brought together federal and regional health ministers, senior government officials, and international development partners to discuss sustainable financing mechanisms and the consolidation of government leadership in sector management.
In the closing session, Minister of Health and Social Care Dr. Ali Haji Adam called on donors to channel their support through a government-led framework, emphasizing that this approach is the most effective way to ensure accountability and improve spending efficiency.
The Minister stressed the importance of swift action to implement the conference’s recommendations, noting that coordinated efforts are a fundamental pillar for building an equitable health system capable of providing medical services to all Somali citizens without exception.
For his part, Dr. Guled Abdijalil, Director General of the Ministry of Health, explained that the conference took place at a critical juncture marked by a decline in international funding, necessitating a unified vision among donors to support health infrastructure and expand services.
The Director General emphasized the need to maintain recent gains in maternal and child health, asserting that continued progress depends entirely on close coordination between the government and partners to ensure funding matches real field requirements.
Officials highlighted that Somalia has made positive strides in increasing domestic health allocations within the general budget, reaffirming the Ministry’s commitment to continued resource mobilization alongside international support to cover funding gaps.
Development partners expressed their support for the government’s alignment proposal, confirming that strategic planning and coordinated funding are key to improving health outcomes and overcoming decades of underinvestment in Somali medical facilities.
The conference concluded by affirming that future partnerships must be based on the principle of national ownership, with the Somali government serving as the primary driver of all projects to ensure integrated roles and sustainable development goals.
The “Nairobi Declaration” on health financing represents a fundamental shift in Somali political discourse toward the international community. Mogadishu seeks to transition from being an aid recipient to leading the developmental process, a move intended to end the fragmentation of relief efforts and concentrate them into official channels that serve the building of strong, sovereign Somali medical institutions.
