By ABDULKADIR KHALIF
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
 Somali refugees in a September 2011 photo. They are benefiting from Turkish aid projects. PHOTO | FILE | |
News media Bosaso Press reported that the State Waterworks Authority (DSI) had dug wells that would mostly benefit internally displaced people living in camps, but that other city dwellers would also benefit, quoting DSI official Ahmet Sekerci.
More wells would be dug, he said.
Turkey, which has been building its influence in the Horn of Africa region, has since last year pledge $365 million to assist famine-affected people in the country.
Short term projects have included emergency aid while longer term ones have seen the country look to improve healthcare.
In March, Doctors Worldwide Turkey (DWWT) opened Shifa Hospital at Hodon district in Mogadishu. The new hospital has a 62-bed capacity and can provide health care to 300,000 patients yearly.
Hodan has an estimated population of 180,960 inhabitants and due to on-going fights in southern regions of Somalia, 50,245 internally displaced people have settled in this district.
As part of the on-going implementation of this project, last October, 13 Somali physicians and nurses went to Istanbul, Turkey to undertake a two-months training in Bezmialem Vakıf University.
Shifa Hospital is the first hospital opened by DWWT in Somalia. There are several other clinics in Mogadishu run by other Turkish health care agencies.