ICC Note: Due to continued activity by al-Shabaab in Eastern Kenya, many medical facilities have been closed. This has made it hard for women and children to receive the medical care they need.
08/24/2018 Nigeria (Daily Nation) – The closure of most dispensaries and health centres in areas earmarked for the ongoing multi-agency security Operation Linda Boni has subjected expectant mothers and children to immense suffering.
The operation, whose objective is to flush out Al-Shabaab militants believed to be hiding inside the expansive Boni Forest, was launched by the national government in 2015.
It covers three counties of Lamu, Tana River and Garissa.
BORDER VILLAGES
A survey by the Nation this week established that expectant women and children, especially those living in villages close to the Somalia border, cannot access the much needed medical services.
Those interviewed in Kiunga, Ishakani, Mkokoni, Madina and Basuba in Lamu East as well as Kotile at the border of Garissa and Tana River counties, complained about the poor state of dispensaries in their areas, most of which have remained closed for the past four years due to insecurity caused by Al-Shabaab.
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