HIV prevalence and characteristics of sex work among female sex workers in Hargeisa AbstractObjective: To measure prevalence of HIV and syphilis and describe characteristics of sex work among female sex workers (FSWs) in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Somalia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey recruited 237 FSWs using respondent-driven sampling (RDS). A face-to-face, structured interview using handheld-assisted personal interviewing (HAPI) on personal digital assistants (PDAs) was completed and blood collected for serological testing. Results: FSWs 15–19 years old accounted for 6.9% of the population; 20–24 year-old constituted an additional 18.0%. The majority (86.6%) never attended school. International (59.0%) and interzonal (10.7%) migration was common. Most (95.7%) reported no other source of income; 13.8% had five or more clients in the last 7 days. A minority (38.4%) had heard of STIs, even fewer (6.9%) held no misconceptions about HIV. Only 24% of FSW reported using a condom at last transactional sex, and 4% reported ever been tested for HIV. HIV prevalence was 5.2% and syphilis prevalence was 3.1%. Conclusion: Sex work in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Somalia, is characterized by high numbers of sexual acts and extremely low knowledge of HIV. This study illustrates the need for targeted HIV prevention interventions focusing on HIV testing, risk-reduction awareness raising, and review of condom availability and distribution mechanisms among FSWs and males engaging with FSWs. http://journals.lww.com/aidsonline/Abstract/2010/07002/HIV_prevalence_and_characteristics_of_sex_work.8.aspx

Providing surgical care in Somalia: A model of task shifting PDF document. http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1752-1505-5-12.pdf Abstract Background: Somalia is one of the most political unstable countries in the world. Ongoing insecurity has forced an inconsistent medical response by the international community, with little data collection. This paper describes the “remote” model of surgical care by Medecins Sans Frontieres, in Guri-El, Somalia. The challenges of providing the necessary prerequisites for safe surgery are discussed as well as the successes and limitations of task shifting in this resource-limited context. Methods: In January 2006, MSF opened a project in Guri-El located between Mogadishu and Galcayo. The objectives were to reduce mortality due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth and from violent and nonviolent trauma. At the start of the program, expatriate surgeons and anesthesiologists established safe surgical practices and performed surgical procedures. After January 2008, expatriates were evacuated due to insecurity and surgical care has been provided by local Somalian doctors and nurses with periodic supervisory visits from expatriate staff. Results: Between October 2006 and December 2009, 2086 operations were performed on 1602 patients. The majority (1049, 65%) were male and the median age was 22 (interquartile range, 17-30). 1460 (70%) of interventions were emergent. Trauma accounted for 76% (1585) of all surgical pathology; gunshot wounds accounted for 89% (584) of violent injuries. Operative mortality (0.5% of all surgical interventions) was not higher when Somalian staff provided care compared to when expatriate surgeons and anesthesiologists. Conclusions: The delivery of surgical care in any conflict-settings is difficult, but in situations where international support is limited, the challenges are more extreme. In this model, task shifting, or the provision of services by less trained cadres, was utilized and peri-operative mortality remained low demonstrating that safe surgical practices can be accomplished even without the presence of fully trained surgeon and anesthesiologists. If security improves in Somalia, on-site training by expatriate surgeons and anesthesiologists will be re-established. Until then, the best way MSF has found to support surgical care in Somalia is continue to support in a “remote” manner.

Whats Odoroska? I would love to see how this $200 million has been calculated, whats included, how its been recorded and how it was funded and been spent. It would be interesting to see how.accurate these records are. Eritrea's government's budget by comparison was $840m in revenue and $1.2bn by expenditure. Liberia's government by comparison had revenue in 12/13 of $670m and expenditure of $750m.

Ibtisam, I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed reading your blog, especially your thought provoking posts about your moved back to SL. Cheers

Some people only know you when they need something, the rest of the times you are a stranger to them.And funnily enough when you need something, you are still a stranger to them.

Calaakuud!

^^ - Initially, six Long Range Patrol Ships with each ship containing 2 High Speed Intervention Vessels will be delivered - the ships will be manned by Somali personnel and have the capacity to stay at sea [patrolling] for 30 days at a time. The first of the patrol ships and its high-speed intervention vessels will be delivered in early 2014. The ships will be provided/part-built by an unspecified Dutch company and a domestic ship maintenance and repair yard will be built inside Somalia. - An interconnected Radar system will set up along the entire coast; in addition Monitoring Stations and a co-ordination centre will be created. - Part of the agreement is that 3,000 Somali personnel will be trained who will play an integral part in the set-up and the operations, all tasks and resonsibilities will gradually be handed over to them from the trainers and facilitators. - The value contract is said to be in the 100's of millions of dollars and for a duration of 5-7 years, by which the deliverables specified in the contract specification will have to be completed. The deliverables include: the creation of the [Navy] organisational structure; the training of the 3,000 Somali personell; the setting up of the radar and monitoring network; delivery and operationalising of the ships; and the construction of the ship repair and maintenance yard. http://www.z24.nl/ondernemen/nederlandse-opdracht-kustwacht-somalie http://www.nu.nl/buitenland/3540320/rotterdams-bedrijf-zet-kustwacht-somalie.html

Somali Government signs landmark coastal protection contract The Minister of Defense for the Federal Government of Somalia has signed a contract with Dutch Atlantic Marine and Offshore Group to deliver structure, assets and services in order to develop an effective and sustainable Coast Guard in Somalia. Instituting a Coast Guard is essential for the establishment of the rule of law within Somali waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This contract clearly contributes to the stability and economic recovery of Somalia and is supporting the Country’s Six Pillar Policy. With its Headquarters in The Netherlands, The Atlantic Marine and Offshore Group and the Somali Government have set out the main objectives for the new structured Somali Coast Guard: • Monitoring and Surveillance of the Exclusive Economic Zone • Patrolling, controlling and securing the Exclusive Economic Zone. • Securing trade and Ports • Protecting natural resources • Protection of fishing grounds from illegal foreign fishing boats • Prevention of dumping of toxic materials • Search, Rescue and Anti-Smuggling services The Atlantic Marine and Offshore Group has developed a series of innovative Long Range Patrol Vessels, equipped with high speed intervention vessels. The Atlantic Marine and Offshore Group will build, maintain and operate the Coast Guard Fleet in compliance with Somali Coast Guard Directorate in a safe, effective and cost efficient manner. The Atlantic Marine and Offshore Group has developed an education and training programme for the Somali Coast Guard Directorate and will develop a Coast Guard Training Centre to train Somali Coast Guard personnel, security officers and shore based support personnel. The Atlantic Marine and Offshore Group will aim to hand over all development, training and operations aspects within medium term to the Somali Coast Guard Directorate. The Atlantic Marine and Offshore Group will operate, on behalf of the authority and administrative command of the Federal Republic of Somalia – Somali Coast Guard Directorate and will adhere to all applicable embargoes and restrictions set by the United Nations. http://horseedmedia.net/2013/07/30/somali-government-signs-landmark-coastal-protection-contract/

Hobbesian_Brute;971412 wrote: So why are relatively well off urban somalis still having large families ? Because they are still 1st generation immigrants. 2nd and 3rd generation tend to have fewer children. Mad_Mullah;971432 wrote: Having large families has nothing to do with only some surviving or that nonsense. It's culture. Even in the west we have large families. Whether they're well off or not. Of coursr its all realtive. Part of it is culture, no doubt, but culture comes about from environmental factors (economic/social/political/natural environment). Reasons why Somalis traditionally have many kids include: - Lack of birth-control methods - Perceived religious duty to have many kids (increase number of Muslims) - Increase the clan numbers (for wealth and times of war) - Economic reasons (children as labourers, to tend and rear the livestock) - Succession & survival (unspoken truth, due to high infant mortality, if you have many kids at the least some will be boys and some survive

I think what's a far more important and quite frankly more valid debate that we should be having is the currently accepted idea/definition of prosperity or affluence, which is dominated by an inherently inefficient material dimension of excess and wealth hoarding. Rather than prosperity per se, it is the currently accepted idea/definition of prosperity or affluence that is unsustainable. We need to reconfigure the perception of prosperity. This through the use of education, information provision, media. Through legislative and structural redesign we need to gear the Somali consumer, private sector and public sector's perceptions of prosperity and affluence to be one of a sustainable and equitable kind.

This is what I said in another thread: OdaySomali;738402 wrote: (in the context of poor/underdeveloped countries, including African countries, poor people with large families are not poor because they have large families but they have large families because they are poor. If you are poor and have few children, you are more likely to remain poor [particularly in old age] and you may still lose your few children. Furthermore, if you are poor, you are less likely to have access to birth-control. You see, children are only an economic burden up untill the age of ~6 after which they are seen as an asset in two ways. (1) Children will work i.e. tend the animals, beg etc. and thus provide livelihoods for the family more than the parents alone would be able to provide. (2) In old age, those children that do survive, and the idea of having many children is that at the least some will survive , will provide for and care for the parents as there are no social security systems to fall back on. Take a typical nomadic Somali family for example. without many children to look after your livestock, are you more or less able to rear and grow your livestock? Same if you are a farmer. It is a known fact and this has been proven by statistics worldwide, that as people become more affluent, they have fewer children. There might be a marginal benefit in having fewer children [if you are already relatively well off] but you are overstating the likely impact. Technically speaking, children are affected by poverty but they are not the cause of it; thus there is no guarantee that you will be wealthier by having fewer children and nor is there a guarantee that you will reduce the affects of poverty [let alone the causes of poverty]. In other words (1) by reducing the population you may increase GDP per capita but overall GDP remains the same and (2) by reducing the population you might actually reduce GDP (lower productive capacity, fewer consumers etc.) and hence GDP per capita.

You win some, you lose some. You can't win them all. But when you are winning, take it and run with it. Because you may come across a time when your wins are far and few between.

Over the past 2 decades Ethiopia has heavily been investing in Healthcare. Not so much in the Somali region.

The Zack;968517 wrote: Somaliland has accepted the federalism indirectly. They are letting Xamar open an aviation office in Hargeisa lol. They have been tricked. One nation, one aviation! The solution, in whatever form it comes, was always going to be a compromise and a mutually beneficial understanding. For too long Somalis have had a zero-sum approach to their political dealings with eachother and its as though they are finally realizing this is only destructive and that agreeing on mutually beneficial and acceptable agreements is far more beneficial and stable.

BUMP! The Gift of the Southern Port Cities:Their Economically Enabling Location The economics of location & a model for realising economic growth in the southern port cities of Somalia. Mogadishu has been inhabited for a time longer than can be remembered. Since about the 7-10th centuries or so it became a magnet for the then booming cross-Indian Ocean trade. Prior to that it had been a watering-hole, come market, come port village. In the Somali trading network - of coastal port-towns, market towns in the hinterland and villages and settlements in the interior - it became the major port for central and the northern portions of the southern Somali peninsula. The town attracted traders and merchants from the Arabian peninsula, Persia, India and the Southern East African port cities and quickly became a melting pot of peoples and trades. Not long passed before it became the most eminent of Somali port cities, outshining Zeila, Berbera, Bandar Qasim, Hobyo, Merca, Barawe and Kismaayo in the process. Mogadishu became the wealthiest city on the Eastern African coast and among the most wealthy of the cities facing the Indian Ocean. The multi story houses, palaces, forts, castles and mosques dating from that era are still there today and a testament to its former glory. Mogadishu has a history of having a diversified economy, primarily because it was such a trading hub. There was a booming economy involving among other the following industries: - Textile industry and Somali textiles were of excellent quality and in high demand to be exported abroad - Precious metals (gold), ivory, incense. Because of the Somali mines in southern East Africa Mogadishu was able to produce gold and also issue its own currency and coinage. - Livestock (the somali peninsule was and still is rich in livestock). - Agricultural produce of vegetables, fruit and various grains. An explorer noted how the city had an abundance of fresh produce, grown in the fertile agricultural lands of Southern Somalia. - Manufactured consumer goods such as shoes, vases and pottery. The historic quarters, old multistorey houses, mosques are testament to Mogadishu's glorious past. Not only are they now a reminder of the wealth that is essential to the origins of Mogadishu, but those historic assets are potential tourist sites and can be used when re-branding Mogadishu. All the above would not have been possible without the fortunate and enabling location of Mogadishu. And perhaps only Kismaayo can match Mogadishu in terms of how economically enabling the city's location is. The first enabling thing abou the location of Mogadishu is in a central location with a good portion of the Somali population to its emmediate south, north and west. Benaadir itself also has a large and dense population in a very smal geographic area - and of course a large population has economic implications (ask China). Geographically Mogadishi is blessed. There are no mountainous regions or terrain stopping the populace from accessing it. It has very fetile land surrounding it, nourished by the perennial Shabeelle river (and its wetlands) which runs just north of the city. This land is able to support commercerial-scale agriculture surrounding it and thus the city is able to produce tonnes upon tonnes of good quality agricultural produce and sustain a vibrant agricultural economy. The lush green areas of Benaadir & Afgooye. The coastal location means that the city has miles of brilliant white sandy beaches with bright turquoise coloured sea. It also means that sea food is readily available and that marine resources in general and luring of hordes of tourists can be exploited. Because of its trading history the very people of mogadishu have retained a lot of the skills and knowledge they have gained from their exchanges with the various peoples they came in contact with. Mogadishans have and retain a rich culture in terms of style and knowledge of [home] construction, food, music, textile manufacturing, articrafts. In the past the city received a lot of investment and these are further assets working in its favour: - Seat of government - A large population - The city is well planned - Has spacious roads - Has lot of the basic infrastructure such as a port, airport, paved roads, power generaiton (need maintenance) - All the above combination of things that few other Somali cities had. - As the Somali economy has grown, Mogadishu has grown with it. The headquarters of many major companies especially telcomms and finance are now located in Mogadishu. Well Planned & Grid Layout Airport Bakaara Market Port Even today the combination of the above factors, and primarily Mogadishu's location leave a legacy. That legacy is that Mogadishu certainly has economic potential and that it this economic potential should be exploited. I assert that Mogadishu is, in theory, easier to 'develop' than the other Somali cities. I genuinly believe that enough financial capital can be generated within Mogadishu (Benaadir) itself to fund short-term reconstruction and regeneration of public works such as roads, pavements and public places (markets). Mogadishu is a large city, has a large population, is the centre for trade and commerce in southern Somalia and is situated in a fertile agricultural region. To be frank, the city's economy is (and has always been, since time immemorial) larger and a lot more diversified and extensive than other Somali cities. The city has a good base of a multitude of revenue and job creating small to medium sized industries to build upon and to, most importantly, tax. These industries include commercial farming (massive potential), the renowned livestock trade, headquarters of many major companies especially telcomms and finance, fishing, light manufacturing, construction, wholesalers and retailers, the port etc. Due to sheer economies of scale alone, if the Mogadishu local authority can get its act right it should be able to collect enough resources to fund some of the basic public works. If the Mogadishu local authority prioritises potential projects, areas within the city or highlights specific urgent needs, it can work on that basis and gradually complete projects to in turn improve the economy of the city.

I do not think the new Central Bank Governor is to blame here. If he must bear any blame, h e is to blame of being too civil, following the spirit of the law and being too timid. Judging from his comments in the media , he still behaves as though he is in a country (US) with political leadership where civil servants are no more than the implementers andmanagers of the operational side of governing. He should realisr he is in Africa and in particular in Somalia. He needs to be more assertive and stand up to the self-serving, corrupt and disingenuous politicians and blow the whistle on them if they do not heed his advice and warnings. He needs to lead reform and seek to spread a culture of good governance.

^ PWC is no watchdog and I wouldnt say that it is uniquely placed to play the watchdog for a central bank either. Just out of curiosity, is this PWC Kenya we are talking about?

1. They should get as much information out of him as possible. 2. Get him to make a video & radio appeal for Al-shabab to stop their attacks, put their arms down and to work with the government. If they (SFG) do this by making him a few false promises then so be it. 3. Lastly, they should tell him they have no further use for him and that they will kill him... unless he gives them any further information that he may have. 4. Put him on trial for the Somali people and the whole world to see. Essentially a PR stunt.

1. They should get as much information out of him as possible. 2. Get him to make a video & radio appeal for Al-shabab to stop their attacks, put their arms down and to work with the government. If they (SFG) do this by making him a few false promises then so be it. 3. Lastly, they should tell him they have no further use for him and that they will kill him... unless he gives them any further information that he may have. 4. Put him on trial for the Somali people and the whole world to see. Essentially a PR stunt.

Alpha Blondy;893426 wrote: don't waste your time on jealousy. sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. the race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself. Wise words.. So true.

Despite your best efforts and intentions, some people just do not want to be helped.

So many "ministers" for such a useless and incompetent "government". I highly doubt that these new "ministers" will deliver the transformation/changes that are needed.

Jacpher;954039 wrote: ^You're still doing it man. You ain't ever gonna get bored of surfing the web for 'Somalis' doing all sorts of crimes around the world. Madax adayg

ASC folks, maxaa la hayaa? AlphB nafta ka waran? I hope you don't mind if I gate-crash your thread and vent for a min I feel like i've become a workaholic, trying to hit the ground running these days... im exhausted, more stressed than ever but i'm so close to achieving my goal ... I hope it will all be worth it, God willing :eek: