©UNICEF/WHO.Attribution needed
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©UNICEF/Quarmyne. The successful birth of a newborn is a testament to the dedication and expertise of skilled midwives like those at Hargeisa Group Hospital’s neonatal ward.
In 2026, Somalia’s Maternal and Newborn Health Acceleration Plan prioritizes the following:
Establish and scale up small and sick newborn care units while rolling out guidelines and kangaroo mother care services at the state level.
Scale up and optimize quality emergency obstetric and newborn care services in high-burden areas, including by introducing WHO’ post-partum hemorrhage guidelines and the EMOTIVE Bundle.
Strengthen community-facility linkages and early care-seeking for maternal and newborn health.
Strengthen maternal and newborn health data systems, governance, and sustainable financing. This includes finalizing and disseminating guidelines for maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response at facility level and integration into DHIS2.
Expand the deployment and retention of midwives and doctors in hard-to-reach areas.
©UNICEF/Quarmyne.
©UNICEF/WHO. Midwives Ismehem Abdi Said and Suleikha Ahmed hold two precious babies at Hargeisa Group Hospital’s neonatal ward.
©UNICEF/Quarmyne.
As part of its efforts to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and stillbirths, Somalia is taking steps to improve the quality of maternal and newborn health. These include:
First webinar in a four-part series sharing lessons from the Accelerating Measurable Progress and Leveraging Investments for Postpartum Hemorrhage Impact (AMPLI-PPHI) project. Organized by Jhpiego.
An event during the WHA79 to share high-level messages from the EWENE-Child Survival Action progress report.
A reception during WHA79
See also: ‘Closing the Gap: Midwife Deployment for Maternal and Neonatal Survival in Humanitarian Settings‘, the poster that the Somalia delegation presented at the International Maternal Newborn Health Conference 2026. .
These messages were developed by the United Advocacy Working Group for Maternal, Newborn and Child health.
Posters presented by 40 country delegations at the International Maternal Newborn Health Conference 2026.
International Maternal Newborn HealthConference (IMNHC) 2026 These key messages and advocacy asks are intended to equip partners with evidence-based messaging andresources in the context of