The following photos were taken, in early December 2006, before the fighting broke out, and illustrate the ICRC's work in support of medical facilities run by the Somali Red Crescent Society.
© ICRC / B. Schaeffer / so-e-00218
Mogadishu, Keysaney hospital
© ICRC / B. Schaeffer / so-e-00217
Mogadishu, Keysaney hospital
© ICRC / B. Schaeffer / so-e-00215
Mogadishu, Keysaney hospital
Nearly 60,000 admissions and over 100,000 consultations have been carried out at the Keysaney hospital since it was opened in 1992, with premises in a former prison. Prices are kept to a minimum: one dollar for a consultation and two dollars for basic hospitalization. For the poorest – 30 per cent of all patients – there is no charge. Five surgeons work in minimal conditions of hygiene and with outdated material, backed up by 19 Somali Red Crescent medical volunteers.
© ICRC / B. Schaeffer / so-e-00203
Mogadishu, Somali Red Crescent rehabilitation centre
© ICRC / B. Schaeffer / so-e-00206
Mogadishu, Somali Red Crescent rehabilitation centre
It costs 75 dollars for a complete new limb, but patients at this Somali Red Crescent rehabilitation centre pay only 5 dollars. A third of them have lost limbs in war, and the rest through illness. Many of the young children treated here have had polio. The Norwegian Red Cross and the ICRC support this centre, whose 12 technical staff were trained in Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates and who live mainly on the premises with their families. As a bonus, free water is available outside for the local people.