MSF midwife, Hamdi’s first patient today is Faadumo. The 20-year-old woman from a nomadic family gave birth to a baby girl 20 days ago. She walked for about an hour with her baby bundle to come for postnatal check-up. Not often sees the midwife fresh mothers like Faadumo coming fairly soon after delivery. The distances women have to walk in combination with local traditions prevent them from leaving home soon after having given birth. Fortunately for Faadumo, her family had just settled only an hour away from Hogdugaag village. Some of Hamdi’s next patients have walked for up to four and a half hours to get here.

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It is a busy MSF mobile clinic day in Hogdugaag village, 35 km from Wardher town and about a 1.5-hour drive, with a population of over 1000 persons, and also bush families that have moved closer to the village for access to the 50 berkits (rainwater collecting ponds). They have been filling up from the good rains. Mostly women and children are coming, most have walked from the bush, for hours, some up to 4 or 4.5 hours to reach the site.