A Somali Mother’s Hope to Beat Tuberculosis

In a city torn by conflict, a single mother struggles, and survives.

“I have been working full time since I become a divorcee because I have children and I am the only breadwinner” says Sa’dio, a 25 year old single mother of 5. “The amount I earn from my work is not enough, because my family is very large, and it is not possible for me to sustain all the needs of my children.”

Sa’dio’s estranged husband does not contribute to the sustenance of the family. She has been divorced for over a year and supports her family by selling second-hand clothes in the market. Now living in the Wadajir area of Mogadishu, she was displaced from Karaan District 7 months ago after fighting consumed her neighbourhood.

After the move, her luck didn’t improve. “I became sick and got tuberculosis 4 months ago,” Sa’dio said. “I immediately contacted SAACID’s tuberculosis centre in Hodan District. When I came to SAACID’s TB clinic I was well received. The staff at the site checked my sputum smear and after 3 days of testing I was told that I was positive, and then they registered me in the program.”

The SAACID clinic where Sa’dio first went to in Hodan District, was later overrun by militias, and the compound was looted. For the third time in a year, the TB clinic was relocated. Its doors have since reopened in a new district, and their urgent work of treating TB patients in Mogadishu continued.

Somalia has one of the highest rates of tuberculosis in the world, and TB is endemic. SAACID has been operating 2 TB clinics in Mogadishu and Adale since 1994. These are sustained with the help of donors, and the World Health Organization,(WHO) who provide free drugs for these clinics, and supplemental food for individuals suffering from TB.

“When I first became sick, I didn’t contact a doctor, but a woman in my neighbourhood who uses traditional medicine treated me as her patient for 26 days. She is a fortune teller, and she is famous in the area. She used some herbal leaves which I used to drink as tea 2 times a day. In the morning, she used to put me in a room full of steam and I usually got sick from the steam, because the steam was affecting my breathing.” Not surprisingly, this treatment didn’t cure her. “I believed that kind of treatment before, but now it seems to me it is cheating,” Sa’dio continues, “and I am warning all the community not to listen, and not to believe in such traditional healers.”

Since Sa’dio is now undergoing proper treatment, her health is improving. “Now I am getting better,” she said, “and I hope I will recover fully from this disease with SAACID’s help.” To date, SAACID has cured more than 8,500 people of TB.

“SAACID is always well known for supporting all Somalis – especially the poor,” Sa’dio said. “I hope SAACID will be able to continue supporting all Somalis, as we really need a lot of assistance at this terrible time.”