Bilis Qooqaani is a town in the

Afmadow Afmadow () is a city in southern Somalia, located in the middle of the Juba region and bordered by Kenya, Badhadhe, Kismayo, Jamame, Jilib, Hagar, Bardhere and Elwaq in Somalia, it's 401 km southwest of the capital Mogadishu. It is home to ...

district of the

Lower Juba Lower Juba (, , , ) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in southern Somalia. With its capital at Kismayo, it lies in the autonomous Jubaland region. Lower Juba is bordered by Kenya, the Somali regions of Gedo, Middle Juba (Jubbada Dhex ...

(Jubbada Hoose) region of southern

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. The city sits approximately 70 kilometers from the

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

-Somali border. Bilis Qooqaani is similar to many towns in southern Somalia in terms of safety and lifestyle

Economy

Animal husbandry is the primary occupation. It is one of Somalia's poorest cities. The people endured hardships such as war and drought. The two-decade civil war virtually destroyed the livelihoods there and left behind high rates of illiteracy, disease, and poverty.

Infrastructure

The offers two water sources: highly polluted boreholes.

Health care

Malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

is common there and claims many lives, mostly women, children, and the elderly. Women deliver babies in their houses with the help of midwives who lack the training and resources necessary to handle complications, costing many lives during

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

. According to a health assessment report done by the

World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...

: "The region is one of the most affected by the drought-induced humanitarian crises that has recently affected Southern Somalia. Health services are inadequate in Afmadow/Hagar with no proper functioning health facilities and so most inhabitants get assistance from private pharmacies. There is one MCH run by local Ngo Dinh Diem NGO in the area of Afmadow with basic medical kit supply from UNICEF. However, other areas have not a single public post. Referral cases including severely malnourished children have nowhere to seek assistance. Some residents therefore resort to self-prescription and medication." The local community, in partnership with some members in the

Somali diaspora The Somali diaspora or Qurbajoogta refers to Somalis who were born in Greater Somalia and reside in areas of the world that they were not born in. The civil war in Somalia greatly increased the size of the Somali diaspora, as many Somalis moved fr ...

, is striving to build a clinic in Qoqaani to provide maternity and general health care services. The clinic, which is currently run by two midwives, has only three beds and little other resources. The nearest medical facility (itself under-resourced) is about 30 miles away.

References

External links

Qooqaani at Maplandia
Populated places in Lower Juba {{Somalia-geo-stub