Mogadishu’s COVID hospital comes under scrutiny after minister’s death

 A former member of parliament has raised alarms about the capacity of staff at Martini hospital after the death of a state minister on Sunday.

Khalif Mumin Tohow, justice minister of Hirshabelle state, passed away due to complications related to the coronavirus in Mogadishu after he tested positive in the town of Jowhar, the administrative capital of Hirshabelle. He was 69.

Tohow was driven from Jowhar to Mogadishu, through Al-Shabaab held territories, after feeling symptoms consistent with the virus. He arrived at the well equipped Erdogan hospital but was turned away by physicians who referred tom Martini hospital. Martini is the only COVID-dedicated hospital in Somalia.

Hussein Mohamed Gagaale, Tohow’s relative and former member of Parliament, was with Tohow at Martini hospital. He told Hiiraan Online that he was appalled at the level of incompetence of staff at the Italian-built maternity hospital. 

“The minister was clearly in distress when he was at the hospital. He was having trouble breathing and although there was a ventilator in the hospital, nobody knew how to operate it.”

He added that “they (Martini staff)  are severely ill-prepared. They do not have the necessary training to care for COVID victims and Tohow died as a result.”

Gagaale said that if a sitting regional minister could not receive adequate treatment at Martini hospital, then the ordinary citizens of Somalia are doomed if the virus spreads.

Tohow was the second confirmed death from COVID-19 in Somalia, according to health officials in the country. The first death was a 58-year-old man. The government announced four new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections to 25.

The health ministry and prime minister’s office have allocated about $11 million for coronavirus preparation.

The Somali government has announced that it will impose an evening curfew in the capital where both confirmed deaths were recorded.