HIS FATHER'S ADDICTION IS MAKING HIS DISABILITY AN INABILITY.

Halimo, 36 years old woman, with six kids lives at Hingalool in Sanaag. I first met her in our OPD early September 2015. I heard a commotion outside my office and I tried to find out what it is about. I found this lady arguing with the lady at the reception. She was trying to see the doctor as her 12 months old son was sick. Upon seeing me, the lady at the reception desk gave in and allowed Halimo to see me. Halimo told me that she is from the Gabooye clan and she believes that she is closer to me than the other residents at Hingalool since Halim and I come from the same region, The North, (Ood Wadaag).

I don’t know but I had the same feeling about the matter although as a doctor I took the Hippocratic Oath not to discriminate my patients on the basis of their tribe, religion, race, political affiliation or social status. Halimo felt that she was a victim of the stigma associated with her clan, the Madhiban, but the truth was that apart from the stigma that people from this clan suffer, our receptionist wanted her to pay the little we charge for the consultation fee since our funding is very limited and for that matter we try to generate some income to run the hospital. It is like a cost sharing way to run the hospital.

Halimo’s son, Jama, is 12 months old; he failed to sit up let along to try to stand up. The mother noticed the obvious developmental delay in her son and her first complain was; why is he not sitting up at one year of age? As I embarked on taking more history and examining the child it was clear to me that the baby had what doctors call Down syndrome, a chromosomal disorder, characterized by intellectual disability and developmental delays.  While I was educating the mother on her son’s condition I dug her life story deeper as part of her social and family history.

Her husband is a Qat addict and despite the fact that he has multiple talents he only works for few days and uses the money to buy Qat/Mira and the following days he is suffering from the hang over!  He can find jobs easily. His Misfortune as Gabooye in Somalia becomes his strength when it comes to employment. Since the Gaboyes work on specific traditional professions-occupational Somali caste system, he can easily find jobs such as hairdressing, shoe mending and iron smelting.  However he provides little or nothing to his family and Halimo is living a miserable life under the poverty line with her kids.

I shared Jama’s photos and 5 other kids with chronic conditions; they are Cabdirahman, Jibril, Muna and Maryan. These children are suffering from some chronic conditions not common in Africa, mainly found in the western World. Two of them have Down syndrome, two of them have Cerebral Palsy-CP and one of them has phocomelia.

I can’t share the stories of all these children, but all of them have one thing in common, they all have chronic debilitating conditions that have no cure and they all come from very impoverished families. They all need frequent visits to the primary physician and once in a while to a pediatric specialist but their financial well being may not allow their parents to do that. What they need is free health services since they have frequent infections and other complications of their chronic illnesses. They need help and they need it now!

I am appealing first to Calmadow women organization whom I work with and I appreciate their generosity. However, anyone willing to support or give a helping hand to the families of these kids is highly welcome.

Personally, I believe that a doctor must not only treat patients but must act as a socioeconomic agent who helps to change the community for the betterment!

Dr. Mohamed Bobe, Hingalool, Sanaag.

#nomadichealthcare#252healthcare#Frontlinedoctor.