Somaliland Govt says Widhwidh health situation is under control

Hargeisa (Somaliland.com) – Somaliland Ministry of Health said it had contained the emergency health situation in Somaliland’s eastern district of Widhwidh that claimed a dozen lives so far.

Reports of a mysterious illness that claimed the lives of a dozen children have emerged from Widhwidh in the past few weeks.

Following a deadly mysterious sickness in Widhwidh village in Buuhoodle district, the ministry of health today announced the situation to be under control. 

In a joint press conference, the director-general of the ministry Mohamed Abdi Hergeeye, and the director of the emergency situations said the emergency situation is completely contained.

In general, we can state that the situation is under control. Epidemiologically, these are seasonal sicknesses.  They are the kind illnesses we were expecting around this time of the year. The government has contained the situation and responded very well. 

Dr Hergeeye

The ministry of health officials said they were monitoring the situation from the beginning, and sent a team to assess the needs on the ground. 

Dr. Hergeeye said medical supplies were sent to Widhwidh immediately from the capital and neighboring cities of Buhodle and Las’anod.

The ministry officials, however, came short of disclosing the sickness that has affected over two thousand people and killed ten so far. Dr. Hergeeye named three illnesses without clarifying if they are affecting people simultaneously. They are pneumonia, fever, and diarrhea. 

The health ministry officials maintained that cases of the illness are decreasing in WidhWidh district.

A few days back, Omar Abdihakim Budeeyeh, a member of the House of Elders gave a grim description of the progress of the illness he called baffling. In his reporting, the victims developed a high fever, fluctuations in sugar levels, diarrhea, and bleeding.