Displaced Women Fighting Malnutrition

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An Arial view of Kahda IDP camp in Mogadishu. Kahda IDP camp in Mogadishu hosts 845,000 IDPs; the highest number of IDP households displaced by protracted conflict and successive drought in Somalia. February 2020.

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A close up of the house sticks being stitched together using an elastic cloth, during the making of a makeshift kitchen at Khadija Ibrahim’s home in the IDP camp in Kahda, Mogadishu, Somalia. March 2020.

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A portrait of Amran Mohamed, 18 yrs (left) and Hawa Ahmed, 18 yrs (right) at Amran's home in Kahda IDP camp in Mogadishu, Somalia. Amran and Hawa met in the camps in 2019 and have been friends since then. March 2020.

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A portrait of Khadija Ibrahim (25 yrs) with her son Abdiqani Abdiqadir (2 yrs) outside their camp in Kahda, Mogadishu. February 2020.

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A wide shot of a section of Kahda IDP camp in Mogadishu, Somalia. March 2020.

Abdiqani Abdihakim, (far left) with his mother Khadija Ibrahim and the rest of their family members at the Kahda Internally Displaced persons camp outside of Mogadishu, Somalia

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Abdiqani Abdihakim, (far left) with his mother Khadija Ibrahim and the rest of their family members at the Kahda Internally Displaced persons camp outside of Mogadishu, Somalia. February 2020.

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Amran Mohamed (18 yrs) and her daughter Halima Sharmaake (2yrs) at their home in Kahda IDP camp. August 2020.

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Family portrait of Amran's family at home in the IDP camp. From far left, Saciid Ali (Amran’s uncle) holding Mohamed Sharmaake (Amran’s son), Halima Sharmaake (middle) and Amran Mohamed. August 2020.

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Khadija Ibrahim fixes the sand on the ground where the sticks used for constructing makeshift homes are inserted on the ground. March 2020.

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Halima Hassan (Khadija Ibrahim’s daughter) plays with the house broom outside their makeshift home in Kahda, Mogadishu. March 2020.

Khadija Ibrahim (25) and her son Abdiqani Abdihakim (2) outside their home at the Kahda Internally Displaced persons camp outside of Mogadishu Somalia.

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Khadija Ibrahim (25) and her son Abdiqani Abdihakim (2) outside their home at the Kahda Internally Displaced persons camp outside of Mogadishu Somalia. February 2020.

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Khadija Ibrahim (25) sweeps her compound in preparation of building a makeshift kitchen at her home in Kahda IDP camp, Mogadishu. March 2020.

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Portrait of Halima Sharmaake at their home in Kahda IDP camp, Mogadishu, Somalia. August 2020.

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Portrait of Ruweydha Abdi enjoying her Ready To Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) at a health center in Kahda IDP camp in Mogadishu, Somalia. March 2020.

A joyous Halima Sharmaake at home with her mother Amran Mohamed weeks after recovering from Severe Acute Malnutrition at Hodan stabilization center in Mogadishu, Somalia.

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A joyous Halima Sharmaake at home with her mother Amran Mohamed weeks after recovering from Severe Acute Malnutrition at Hodan stabilization center in Mogadishu, Somalia. August 2020.

A day in the life of three women living in Kahda Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camp, Mogadishu, Somalia

About the project

Kahda IDP camp in Mogadishu hosts 845,000 IDPs; the highest number of IDP households displaced by protracted conflict and successive drought in Somalia. Poor environmental conditions, limited access to water and insufficient sanitation facilities are driving increased levels of malnutrition and disease across the country. Access to healthcare continues to worsen due to widespread violence, and the health system remains fragmented, under-resourced and ill-equipped to provide lifesaving and preventative services. Somalia has less than 40 per cent of its target of two health facilities per 10,000 population; and has only 19 per cent of its target skilled health workforce [Service availability and readiness assessment (SARA) – WHO, 2016]. The two women in this series were part of Action Against Hunger nutrition program. I followed their lives beyond the health center where their children received treatment for malnutrition.

Inspiration & Motivation

The need to tell my community's stories and changing the narrative inspires me to do photography. The lack of representation in photography has been a force for me to work towards creating visual content that represents the story of my people. Stories that only focus on the impact of decades of conflict in Somalia have been in the limelight for so long, leaving no room for imagination of what the current Somalia looks like for many across the globe. I am passionate about social and gender based issues. Being among the very few female photographers in Somalia I have been privileged to work on long term projects on the impact of malnutrition among internally displaced women in partnership with Action Against Hunger in Somalia. Highlighting such issues affecting women on the move has changed my perspective on how the dynamics of movement/displacement has a huge impact on women.

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Displaced Women Fighting Malnutrition

A day in the life of three women living in Kahda Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camp, Mogadishu, Somalia

About the project

Inspiration & Motivation