Considering the country was in the middle of a pandemic, the silence at the entrance to Mogadishu’s De Martini hospital felt unnerving.
The stillness in its deserted, sanitised halls, sent a chill through me as I arrived in May to capture the work being done at what was, until recently, the Somali capital’s only hospital taking coronavirus patients. It felt like a prison.
I was covered from head to toe in PPE kit because I feared contracting the virus myself and what would happen.
Then I stepped inside the treatment centre and there was chaos. Movement everywhere, a lot of instructions being shouted, a lot of whispering between doctors and nurses. A camera usually attracts attention but now I felt invisible as the medical staff rushed around me, going from patient to patient or trying to change oxygen tanks. I was just trying to stand to the side and not interfere. Read more…..
Chart of the Day
Icarus TV
The United Nations is warning of a humanitarian crisis in Somalia as the country battles Covid-19 alongside a series of natural disasters. The agency is asking for the support of partners as the situation threatens both the safety and livelihoods of Somalis.
