Protection Cluster

DADAAB (SOHA) – From the sky, the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Garissa County looks like a tuft of green hair in the balding savannah that is the northern part of Kenya. Sporadic clouds throw black splotches that look like burn scars on the pale peach-hued earth. To the sympathetic eye, …

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – Save the Children calls upon the government of Somalia, civil society and other community actors to take immediate action to scale up efforts to protect children, particularly girls, against all forms of violence and harmful traditional practices, including Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C).  The call comes after a series of …

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – Two sisters have died in Somalia from complications that arose after undergoing female genital mutilation, according to Hawa Aden Mohamed, who campaigns against the procedure. Ten-year-old Aasiyo Abdi Warsame and her sister, Khadijo, 11, died a day after they were subjected to the procedure in the remote …

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – Somalia’s first prosecution for female genital mutilation (FGM) following the death of a 10-year-old girl has run into problems because her parents will not help investigators locate the cutter, an activist said on Thursday. The case highlights the difficulties of ending the ancient tradition in Somalia, which has …

BAIDOA (SOHA) – Speaking in regional Somalia today, the top United Nations official for gender equality and women’s empowerment highlighted efforts made at the national and local levels towards greater representation of women in political structures and processes, and encouraged further progress in this area. “I am here to strengthen …

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – As the international community marked the World Humanitarian Day today, a senior United Nations official warned of the grave threats faced by aid workers in Somalia, where they continue to be targets of armed groups which often abduct and detain them and steal desperately needed relief supplies. “As …

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – Somali-American supermodel Halima Aden, an ambassador for UNICEF, is using her voice to advocate for children’s rights. The former child refugee, who came to the United States during the Somali Civil War in the early 1990s, shared a video on her social media account on the subject …

NAIROBI (SOHA) – “It would have been an easier option to stay in Nairobi, practise law and earn some good money, drive a cool Mercedes-Benz. But I just wanted to come back home.” That was the life that Fatuma Abdulkadir Adan could have lived in Kenya’s capital. Instead she chose …

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – A campaign against female genital mutilation (FGM) in Somalia involving Irish people is hopeful of winning a strong endorsement this weekend from religious leaders in Mogadishu. As organisers were putting the final touches to the campaign, its urgency was underlined by reports emerging this week that a 10-year-old Somali girl bled to death as …

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – The first national gathering on FGM opens today in the capital Mogadishu was attended by Somali leaders and influencers reflecting the success and challenges to end Female Genital Mutilation in Somalia Somali Deputy Minister of Health Mohamed Said Abdilah said “We are ready to partner with the …