NAIROBI, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday urged robust investments in Somalia's fragile health care infrastructure as a means to accelerate the country's reconstruction after two and a half decades of civil strife.
Senior officials said at a forum in Nairobi that affordable health care will help Somalia deal with frequent disease outbreaks worsened by conflicts and natural calamities.
Ghulam Popal, the WHO Representative in Somalia, proposed new funding and technical interventions to help rebuild Somalia's healthcare system.
"The health care system in Somalia has suffered from continuous emergencies including epidemics of infectious diseases due to conflicts and extreme climatic shocks like droughts and floods," said Popal.
"We must accelerate action to rebuild the country's health infrastructure and strengthen response to frequent cholera and measles outbreaks," he added.
Representatives from multilateral lenders, governments and relief agencies attended the Nairobi forum that sought to explore innovative ways to broaden access to affordable health care services in Somalia.
Participants discussed Kenya's and Sudan's model of expanding health coverage and how it can be replicated in the neighboring Somalia.
Popal stressed that universal health coverage will have a positive socio-economic bearing on Somalia and the greater horn of African region.
"Regional collaboration combined with stable institutional capacity is key to expanding access to quality and affordable health care services in Somalia. Resilient health systems in the country will benefit other East African Nations," Popal said.
He urged greater investments in surveillance infrastructure to enhance timely response to disease outbreaks in Somalia.
The governments of Somalia and other autonomous regions have identified reconstruction of health infrastructure as critical to achieve peace, stability and economic growth.
Osman Isse Abdinasir, the Minister for Health in the autonomous Puntland region, said there is a political goodwill to promote access to quality health care to help deal with emergencies that undermine stability and progress.
"We are gradually recovering from the turmoil of yesteryears and revitalizing health services will be the cornerstone of development and stability," Abdinasir said.
