Somalia Joins Global Leaders Network, Elevating Political Commitment to Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health

The Global Leaders Network (GLN) for Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health (WCAH) proudly welcomes Somalia, under the leadership of H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, as its newest member. Somalia’s decision to join the GLN marks a pivotal moment in the country’s health and development journey, signalling strong political will and commitment to advancing the health and rights of women, children, and adolescents across Africa and the Global South.

Somalia’s inclusion comes as global efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for maternal and child health continue to fall short. In 2023, approximately 260,000 women died from largely preventable pregnancy and childbirth-related causes, 92% of them in low- and lower-middle-income countries. That same year, under-five deaths reached 4.8 million, including 2.3 million newborns, while stillbirths remained close to 1.9 million. With climate change, prolonged conflict, and shrinking global health funding intensifying the crisis, decades of progress are at risk of being lost.

By joining the Global Leaders Network (GLN), Somalia reinforces its position within a growing coalition of Heads of State committed to high-level political leadership, accountability, and accelerated action to end preventable deaths and strengthen health systems. This follows Somalia’s pivotal role in spearheading a resolution adopted at the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA), aimed at accelerating progress in reducing maternal, newborn, and child mortality to meet the SDG targets by 2030. The resolution highlights the stagnation and, in some cases, regression in maternal, newborn, and child survival, and calls for focused, urgent, and coordinated country-led action to reverse these trends.

Somalia now stands alongside countries including South Africa, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Tanzania, Liberia, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, and Denmark, each committed to placing Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health (WCAH) at the centre of national development strategies and global policy agendas.

Somalia’s membership also comes at a strategically important time, ahead of key global convenings including the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA), and the G20 Summit in South Africa. As a country navigating complex humanitarian and development challenges, Somalia brings a critical voice and perspective to shaping collective priorities and driving results for communities and populations most in need.

About The Global Leaders Network (GLN): Initiated in 2023, the Global Leaders Network is the first and only Global South-led global health diplomacy initiative to support the attainment of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals related to women, children, and adolescents. The GLN is creating a pathway towards the reduction of maternal, neonatal, and adolescent mortality rates by a third in network countries by 2030.