Land, farming and livestock
Rift Valley fever outbreaks in Somalia
Rift Valley fever is a mosquito-borne virus of livestock that also kills people. Major outbreaks hit southern Somalia in 1997-98 and 2006-07, both after heavy rain and floods. In 2006-07 the WHO recorded 114 human cases and 51 deaths in Somalia, most in Lower Juba and Gedo. Each outbreak also led Gulf countries to ban Somali animals, costing the livestock trade hundreds of millions of dollars.
What the disease is
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a virus that mainly infects sheep, goats, cattle and camels. Animals catch it mostly from mosquito bites. People catch it by touching infected blood, breathing near animals being butchered, drinking raw milk from infected animals, or through mosquito bites. Severe cases can cause blindness, brain infection and bleeding. Outbreaks usually come in years of unusually heavy rain and flooding, which let more mosquitoes hatch (Wikipedia, Rift Valley fever).
1997-98
A major outbreak hit Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania in 1997-98, after the El Niño rains and widespread flooding (WHO Africa, Rift Valley fever). One Australian government bulletin gives about 89,000 human cases and 478 deaths across the Horn of Africa for the outbreak, dating it 1996-97 (Australian Department of Agriculture, EAD Bulletin 100).
Saudi Arabia then banned livestock from Somalia and its neighbours from February 1998 to May 1999 (USDA, 1999).
2006-07
Heavy rain in southern Somalia in December 2006 brought mosquitoes that spread the virus among herds (Wikipedia, 2006-2007 East Africa Rift Valley fever outbreak). From 19 December 2006 to 20 February 2007, Somalia reported 114 human cases and 51 deaths, a fatality rate of 45 percent. Three cases were confirmed in a laboratory (WHO, Disease Outbreak News, 9 May 2007).
| Region | Cases |
|---|---|
| Lower Juba | 73 |
| Gedo | 26 |
| Hiiraan | 7 |
| Middle Shabelle | 4 |
| Middle Juba | 2 |
| Lower Shabelle | 1 |
Source: WHO, 9 May 2007. The regional counts add up to 113, one fewer than the total WHO gives.
The same outbreak caused 684 cases and 155 deaths in Kenya, 333 of them in North Eastern Province, and 264 cases and 109 deaths in Tanzania (same source).
The cost to trade
After an RVF outbreak in Saudi Arabia and Yemen in 2000, Saudi Arabia banned Somali livestock until 2009. In 2016 it imposed a partial ban after RVF and foot-and-mouth disease were found in a few shipments (Mtimet and others, 2021). See Gulf bans on Somali livestock.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Rift Valley fever · en.wikipedia.org
- WHO Africa, Rift Valley fever · afro.who.int
- Australian Department of Agriculture, EAD Bulletin 100 · agriculture.gov.au
- USDA, 1999 · apps.fas.usda.gov
- Wikipedia, 2006-2007 East Africa Rift Valley fever outbreak · en.wikipedia.org
- WHO, Disease Outbreak News, 9 May 2007 · who.int
- Mtimet and others, 2021 · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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Where this matters
- Beledweyne (Belet Weyne) and HiiraanHiiraan is a region of Hirshabelle State on the Shabelle river, with Beledweyne as its capital and about 505,000 to 598,000 people.
- Jowhar (Johar) and Middle ShabelleMiddle Shabelle is the farming region along the Shabelle river north of Mogadishu, with Jowhar as its capital and about 1 to 1.26 million people.
- Marka (Merca) and Lower ShabelleLower Shabelle is Somalia's biggest farming region, along the Shabelle river south-west of Mogadishu, with Marka (Merca) as its capital and about 835,000 to…
- Garbahaarrey (Garbaharey) and GedoGedo is the south-western region on the borders with Kenya and Ethiopia, with Garbahaarrey as its capital and about 1 million people.
- Bu'aale (Buale) and Middle JubaMiddle Juba is a farming region on the Juba river in the south, with about 447,000 people.
- Kismaayo (Kismayo) and Lower JubaLower Juba is the far southern region on the border with Kenya, with the port city of Kismayo (Kismaayo) as its capital and about 1.2 million people.
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- Pastoralism in Somalia: how herding worksSomali pastoralism in facts: how many people herd, what they earn, milk and meat, seasons and movement, herd splitting, risks from drought and disease, and the move to towns.
- How many livestock does Somalia have?Somalia's livestock in numbers: herd size by species, what the animals produce, how many die each year, exports, and why sources disagree.
- Camels in Somalia: the world's largest herdCamels in Somalia in facts: herd size, share of the world's camels, camel milk, exports to the Gulf, the 2016 to 2018 export fall at Berbera, and the first camel milk yoghurt factory.
- Blackheaded Somali sheep: the breed behind the livestock tradeThe Blackheaded Somali sheep: what it looks like, where it is kept, why it suits dry land, its role in exports through Berbera and Bosaso, and the breeds descended from it.
- Cattle in Somalia: Boran and the Somali breedsCattle in Somalia: numbers, where they are kept, the Boran breed and the Somali Boran, the large red cattle traded to Kenya, cattle exports and milk.
- The Somali goat: breed, milk and tradeThe Somali goat in facts: what it looks like, where it is kept, milk yield in drought, meat exports with sheep, and what DAD-IS records about the breed.