A day in the life of three women living in Kahda Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camp, Mogadishu, Somalia

 

About the project

Kahda IDP camp in Mogadishu hosts 845,000 IDPs; the highest number of IDP households displaced by protracted conflict and successive drought in Somalia. Poor environmental conditions, limited access to water and insufficient sanitation facilities are driving increased levels of malnutrition and disease across the country. Access to healthcare continues to worsen due to widespread violence, and the health system remains fragmented, under-resourced and ill-equipped to provide lifesaving and preventative services. Somalia has less than 40 per cent of its target of two health facilities per 10,000 population; and has only 19 per cent of its target skilled health workforce [Service availability and readiness assessment (SARA) – WHO, 2016]. The two women in this series were part of Action Against Hunger nutrition program. I followed their lives beyond the health center where their children received treatment for malnutrition.

 

Inspiration & Motivation

The need to tell my community's stories and changing the narrative inspires me to do photography. The lack of representation in photography has been a force for me to work towards creating visual content that represents the story of my people. Stories that only focus on the impact of decades of conflict in Somalia have been in the limelight for so long, leaving no room for imagination of what the current Somalia looks like for many across the globe. I am passionate about social and gender based issues. Being among the very few female photographers in Somalia I have been privileged to work on long term projects on the impact of malnutrition among internally displaced women in partnership with Action Against Hunger in Somalia. Highlighting such issues affecting women on the move has changed my perspective on how the dynamics of movement/displacement has a huge impact on women.

 

All photos in this gallery ? Fardosa Hussein