Sunday April 20, 2025

Somali families and Ministry of Health officials pose for a photo at Aden Abdulle International Airport in Mogadishu on April 20, 2025, after welcoming 15 children who returned from Nairobi, Kenya, where they received Saudi-funded cochlear implant surgeries that restored their hearing.

Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia’s federal government welcomed 15 children to Mogadishu on Saturday after they successfully regained their hearing through specialized surgeries conducted overseas, in a program supported by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center.

The children, aged between 3 and 6, received cochlear implants, advanced electronic hearing devices, during a series of operations performed in Kenya’s capital earlier this month. The surgeries were fully funded by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center.

According to ministry officials, each operation costs approximately $25,000, placing such procedures far beyond the reach of most Somali families. The children had previously been told that no treatment options were available inside Somalia due to a lack of specialist care and audiological infrastructure.

“This is a milestone in our national efforts to provide specialized healthcare for our people,” Somalia’s Health Minister, Dr. Ali Haji Adam,  said during the reception at Aden Abdulle International Airport. “We’re grateful to the King Salman Center for their central role in making this possible.”

Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya, Jabril Ibrahim Abdulle, who attended a separate handover ceremony in Nairobi on Friday, called the initiative “a restoration of dignity, identity, and possibility.” He praised the coordination between the Somali embassy, Saudi officials, and Kenyan surgeons that made the surgeries possible.

Dr. Adam encouraged Somali families with children experiencing hearing loss to seek medical assessments and register with health facilities to prepare for future treatment opportunities. “We don’t want any child left behind when these chances arise,” he said.

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center provided the funding and the cochlear devices—some of the most advanced and costly models globally. Dr. Aqueel bin Jam’aab Al-Ghamdi, Assistant Supervisor General at the Center, and Saudi Ambassador to Kenya Khalid A. AlSalman were also credited for their pivotal roles in facilitating the program.

In Somalia, children with disabilities often face stigma, limited access to schooling, and exclusion from basic services. The program represents a breakthrough in addressing those medical and social challenges. Somalia’s Ministry of Health has recently prioritized support for vulnerable populations—especially children, women, and the elderly—as part of a strategy to expand healthcare access nationwide.