During the medieval era, traditional forms of medicine were often used. During the colonial era, due to the distrust that existed in northwest Somalia towards British colonial administrators, there was minimal development in healthcare training. The BMA (British Military Administration) diminished the inflow of Italians into southern Somalia which hampered the building of facilities. Until the collapse of the federal government in 1991, the organizational and administrative structure of
Somalia's
healthcare sector was overseen by the Ministry of Health. Regional medical officials enjoyed some authority, but healthcare was largely centralized. The
socialist government of former President of Somalia
Siad Barre had put an end to private medical practice in 1972. Much of the national budget was devoted to military expenditure, leaving few resources for healthcare, among other services. in
Mogadishu consists of a maternity unit and a pediatric unitSomalia's public healthcare system was largely destroyed during the ensuing civil war. As with other previously nationalized sectors, informal providers have filled the vacuum and replaced the former government monopoly over healthcare, with access to facilities witnessing a significant increase. Many new healthcare centers,
clinics,
hospitals and
pharmacies have in the process been established through home-grown Somali initiatives. Comparing the 2005–2010 period with the half-decade just prior to the outbreak of the conflict (1985–1990),
life expectancy actually increased from an average of 47 years for men and women to 54 years for men and 57 years for women.
Child mortality and morbidity The last three decades of armed conflicts, lack of functioning government, economic collapse, and disintegration of the health system and other public services - together with recurrent droughts and famines – has turned Somalia into one of the world's most difficult environments for survival. This is bluntly reflected in the poor child health conditions, as twenty per cent of the children die before they reach the age of five, more than one third are underweight, and almost fifty percent experience stunting. The under-five mortality rate in Somalia is among the highest in the world, while the prevalence of malnutrition has remained at record high levels for decades. It is therefore likely that malnutrition contributes to more than half of the under-five deaths in Somalia. Pneumonia, diarrhoea and neonatal causes account for a large proportion of childhood deaths. The number of one-year-olds fully immunized against
measles rose from 30% in 1985–1990 to 40% in 2000–2005, and for
tuberculosis, it grew nearly 20% from 31% to 50% over the same period. Between 2005 and 2010 as compared to the 1985–1990 period,
infant mortality per 1,000 births also fell from 108 to 85. Significantly,
Maternal mortality Maternal mortality per 100,000 births fell from 1,600 in the pre-war 1985–1990 half-decade to 850 in the 2015. The number of physicians per 100,000 people also rose from 3.4 to 4 over the same timeframe, vaccination According to a 2005 World Health Organization estimate, about 97.9% of Somalia's women and girls underwent
female circumcision, a pre-marital custom mainly endemic to Northeast Africa and parts of the Near East. Encouraged by women in the community, it is primarily intended to protect chastity, deter promiscuity, and offer protection from assault. By 2013, UNICEF in conjunction with the Somali authorities reported that the prevalence rate among 1- to 14-year-old girls in the autonomous northern Puntland and Somaliland regions had dropped to 25% following a social and religious awareness campaign. About 93% of Somalia's male population is also reportedly circumcised. Somalia has one of the lowest
HIV infection rates on the continent. This is attributed to the
Muslim nature of Somali society and adherence of Somalis to Islamic morals. While the estimated HIV prevalence rate in Somalia in 1987 (the first case report year) was 1% of adults, Although healthcare is now largely concentrated in the private sector, the country's public healthcare system is in the process of being rebuilt, and is overseen by the Ministry of Health. The current Minister of Health is
Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud. The autonomous Puntland region maintains its own Ministry of Health, as does the Somaliland region in northwestern Somalia. ==Health sector strategic plans==