Features

How a community driven approach is achieving peace at a Somali town with USAID support

MARKA (HORN OBSERVER) Marka town is an ancient port city in the Lower Shebelle province of Somalia and approximately 90km to the southwest of the nation's capital Mogadishu. But this town has been the best example to think when one has to describe the impact of Somalia's protracted conflict.

On United Nations Day, top official reaffirms world body's commitment to Somalia now and going forward

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) – On the occasion of United Nations Day, the UN envoy to Somalia today highlighted the long-running partnership between the world body and the country, and reaffirmed the organization's support for Somalis now and into the future.

Radio journalist detained in an undisclosed location after interviewing a businessman in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) and Somali Media Association (SOMA) vehemently condemn the raid on the prominent Radio Kulmiye journalist, Abdullahi Kulmiye Addow's home and his illegal detention by officers from the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) in…

Food losses increase during COVID-19, a major hurdle to Africa's development

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) The first ever International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste will be marked tomorrow with a call to action for African countries to bolster their efforts and encourage private sector investments to reduce food losses and waste.

KENYA: Corruption in the health sector is negatively affecting realisation of the right to health

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) Forty five (45) civil society, non-governmental, community based organizations, professional bodies, trade unions and the private sector in Kenya have written an open letter over the persistent corruption in the health sector. The open letter is directed to the Ministry of Health,…

New Somali PM gets overwhelming parliament approval

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Mohamed Hussein Roble, who was last week appointed as the new premier of Somalia, has been overwhelmingly approved by the Parliament on Wednesday.

Shaping peace together: Somali youth as change-makers

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somalia's youth need to be change-makers and actively take part in politics, reconciliation, peace-building, elections and ongoing efforts to help develop their country – this was the main message stemming from a recent panel discussion which brought together more than…

Somalia's int'l partners note agreed electoral process while calling for a decisive democratic progress

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somalia's international partners have taken note of the last week's political agreement announced by the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) President and the five Federal Member State (FMS) Presidents regarding the 2020/21 electoral process.

New research shows devastating economic impact of Covid-19 on displaced

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) More than three quarters of displaced and conflict-affected people surveyed by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) have lost income since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With less than two months to the polls, Somali president appoints ex-Stockholm bus driver as a new PM

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somalia is expecting to hold its general election in less than two months as the term of the current President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo's administration nears to an end.

Administrators in Marka, a once most preferred holiday destination in Somalia get trained with USAID funds

MARKA (HORN OBSERVER) About 55 district administrators and officials from Marka town, the once most preferred holiday destination in southern Somalia have got their first training about city administration and service delivery with the support of TISPlus, a program funded by USAID with the aim of increasing…

Gunmen brutally kill six Quran teachers in Somalia's Middle Shabelle region

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Gunmen with the uniform of Somali military brutally killed six Quran teachers in Rage Elle district of Middle Shabelle region, about 100km (62 miles) north of the capital, Mogadishu on Thursday, local officials and residents said.

Somalia's efforts with youth, peace and security discussed at UN Security Council

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) The key role that young Somalis play in helping develop their country came under the spotlight recently at a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council on youth, peace and security.

U.S to continue to fight al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab & ISIS, AFRICOM Commander says

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) On the aftermath of 9/11 nineteenth anniversary, the commander of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRIOM), Gen. Stephen Townsend has vowed to continue fighting al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab and the Islamic State (ISIS) in the world.

First toll-free number for emergency services launched in Somalia

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) People in need of emergency medical services can now call a 24-hour toll-free number to seek first aid and transport services from the Somali Red Crescent (SRCS).

Caught in Nepotism: Somalia's Petroleum Minister assigns his daughter a key role within his ministry

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somalia's Minister of Petroleum, Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed is once again in the mid of controversy as he is caught in nepotism following the appointment of his daughter as a senior officer within the Ministry of Petroleum, according to a document leaked to the media.

Do or Die: Somali president's comms director threatens journalists, unions who oppose media law

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) On Thursday hundreds of journalists, editors, photographers, women reporters, media bosses and representatives from Somali civil society groups protested against the country's draconian media law introduced a day earlier.

Somalia: Sharp decline in primary healthcare visits, child vaccinations amid Covid-19 pandemic as malnutrition and infectious diseases surge

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Primary health care visits and vaccination coverage have sharply declined in Somalia amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, raising concerns that diseases such as respiratory infections, measles, and acute watery diarrhea (AWD) as well as malnutrition could be going untreated, all while…

Five out of six World Health Organization regions are now wild polio-free, NGO says

EVANSTON, USA (HORN OBSERVER) Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) are proud to announce an historic public health achievement as the World Health Organization's African region is now certified wild poliovirus-free.

Somalia launches first national nutrition survey since 2009

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) The Micronutrient Survey launched by Federal Ministry of Health and UNICEF today shines a spotlight on the nutrition status of women and children in Somalia.