While Somalia and its partners, including the United Nations, focus on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, other parts of the international organization remain concentrated on supporting the Somali authorities in a range of areas – including the current desert locust infestation. The pests continue laying eggs and hatching in their breeding grounds in …

MOGADISHU –  A SalaamAir chartered plane ferrying humanitarian aid was nearly downed in the southern Somalia town of Qansah-Dhere in Bay region on Monday after it was shot with DSHK machine gun, local security and witnesses told SomaliUpdate News. The plane which ferried medicines and medical equipment was on its …

MOGADISHU — Somali health ministry on Monday confirmed 95 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total tally of infections to 1,689. Fawziya Abikar, health minister, said 31 people recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of people who have been discharged from hospitals to 235. The minister said five patients succumbed …

DADAAB CAMP — Two residents of the Dadaab complex have tested positive for Covid-19, the United Nations refugee agency has announced. These first confirmations of the presence of the Coronavirus are raising fears that it could spread in the camps and surrounding communities. “The crowded conditions in the Dadaab refugee …

MOGADISHU — The coronavirus poses enormous challenges for Somalia, where the humanitarian situation is already dire, said the top UN envoy for the country on Thursday. Somalia, like the rest of the world, is focused on confronting COVID-19. There are more than 1,500 recorded cases although the actual figures are …

MOGADISHU — Somali Health Ministry on Tuesday confirmed 47 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total tally of infections to 1,502. Fawziya Abikar, the Health Minister said the new patients are from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland which has 19, Banadir 13, Somaliland 8, and SouthWest 7. Abikar said two …

MOGADISHU — Flooding in central Somalia has affected nearly 1 million people, displacing about 400,000 people, the United Nations said Monday, warning of possible disease outbreaks because of crowding where the displaced are seeking temporary shelter. At least 24 people have died in the flash floods that hit Beledweyne and …

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s coronavirus lockdown has led to a huge increase in female genital mutilation (FGM), with circumcisers going door to door offering to cut girls stuck at home during the pandemic, a charity said on Monday. Plan International said the crisis was undermining efforts to eradicate the practice in …

BELEDWEYNE —  HirShabelle state president Mohamed Abdi Waare has presided over a key regional cabinet meeting held in Beledweyne city. The meeting focused on the current humanitarian situation in the Hiran region and ongoing efforts to mitigate the flood crisis in Beledweyne resulted from the heavy Gu’ rainfall. HirShabelle state …

MOGADISHU — Somali health ministry on Sunday confirmed 64 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total tally of infections to 1,421. Fawziya Abikar, the health minister said the majority of the latest cases were recorded in Banadir which have 33, Somaliland 16, Galmudug eight, and Southwest seven. Abikar said one …