Somalian Hospitals Seeing Fewer War Victims

Security improved, doctors now see people with normal illnesses

MOGADISHU — As security improves in Mogadishu and much of south central Somalia, hospitals are seeing fewer victims of violence than before. Doctors say more and more patients come in for elective surgeries and to seek treatment for "normal" illnesses.

For over 20 years, the Medina Hospital in Mogadishu has treated the victims of Somalia's war. With the biggest emergency care facility in the city, Medina serves as a referral hospital for trauma and surgery cases from all over south central Somalia and can admit up to 300 patients at one time.

But Mogadishu's newfound peace, secured by African Union Forces who pushed al-Shabab militants out of the city in 2011, is changing Medina's caseload. Doctor Mohamed Yusuf said the number of patients arriving at the hospital for treatment of war wounds is declining.