Somalia's lifeline: Digitalization and AI.

Somalia's fragile health system, strained by decades of conflict, climate shocks, and persistently low immunization coverage, remains dangerously vulnerable to preventable disease outbreaks. With measles resurgent and full vaccination coverage stagnating at just 55% nationally and as low as 26% in some states - the country faces recurrent epidemics it cannot withstand. Digitalization and artificial intelligence offer a critical lifeline, with potential to transform disease surveillance, optimize resource allocation, rebuild primary healthcare delivery, and empower frontline health workers through real-time data. Early initiatives demonstrate tangible benefits: an electronic immunization registry in Benadir improved vaccination tracking and reduced dropout rates, while mobile health messaging enhanced caregiver communication. AI-powered predictive models, already forecasting malnutrition trends using climate and conflict data, could be extended to anticipate measles outbreaks, enabling proactive responses. Despite significant barriers - limited connectivity, unreliable electricity, insufficient technical expertise, nascent governance frameworks, and a digital divide threatening to exclude vulnerable populations - strategic investment in context-appropriate digital health is an immediate priority, not an optional upgrade. Protecting Somali children through timely vaccination, strengthened surveillance, and data-driven decision-making must be treated as an urgent health security imperative. Digitalization and AI are practical, essential tools for a country that cannot afford another outbreak.