A private vehicle, rented by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), was attacked in North Galcayo, Somalia early in the evening on June 24, as it returned from referring a patient from one MSF facility in the south of the city to another in the north.  

During the incident, the female caretaker, accompanying the patient, was shot and killed and the driver injured. The third passenger, an MSF staff member was unhurt. The driver has since received treatment and is in a good condition. The car was taken by the attackers.

The attack is not considered to have been directed against MSF. However, it demonstrates an unacceptable level of violence, which puts at risk MSF’s ability to provide health care for hundreds of thousands of Somalis throughout the country.

MSF began work in Somalia in 1991. Since January 2008, MSF’s projects throughout south and central Somalia continue to be run thanks to the commitment, hard work and courage of our dedicated Somali staff, supported by a team based in Nairobi who visits whenever security allows.  

MSF calls on all combatants to respect medical structures and activities in order that people, irrespective of their political, religious or military affiliation, can access much needed healthcare.

In 2008 alone, MSF teams provided 727,428 outpatient consultations, including 267,168 for children under the age of five. More than 55,000 women received antenatal care consultations and more than 24,000 people were admitted as inpatients to MSF-supported hospitals and health clinics. In total, 3,878 surgeries were performed, 1,249 of which were injuries caused by violence. Medical teams treated 1,036 people suffering from the deadly neglected disease kala azar, treated more than 4,000 people for malaria and started 1,556 people on tuberculosis treatment. Nearly 35,000 people suffering from malnutrition were provided with food and medical care and 82,174 vaccinations were given.

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