Mogadishu, SONNA — The Minister of Family and Human Rights Development, Amb. Khadija Mohamed Al-Makhzoumi, today inaugurated the National Child Helpline Center, a landmark facility operating the free hotline 166, Africa’s most widely used child helpline. The new centre is designed to provide Somali children with immediate, confidential, and life-saving support whenever they face abuse, neglect, or situations of danger.
Senior ministry leaders including State Minister Mohamed Osman Nastaro and Deputy Minister Maryan Ali Abukar joined the Minister at the launch ceremony and took part in unveiling the Children’s Emergency Help Centre.
Addressing the newly trained child-protection staff assigned to operate the helpline, Minister Al-Makhzoumi underscored the seriousness of their role and the national trust vested in them.
She reminded them of “the responsibilities and duties assigned to them” and emphasized that “they should take special responsibility in monitoring the situation of Somali children in this center.”
Her remarks reinforced the Ministry’s expectation of high standards of professionalism, compassion, and vigilance in responding to the needs of vulnerable children across the country.
The establishment of the 166 Child Helpline marks a significant step forward in strengthening Somalia’s national child-protection system. The initiative forms part of the Ministry’s broader strategy to confront the extensive risks facing Somali children and is launched at a meaningful moment coinciding with the 10th anniversary of Somalia’s accession to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
According to the Ministry, the helpline will function as a fast-response mechanism, ensuring that children in distress receive timely assistance, psychosocial support, and referrals to relevant services.
The launch of the National Child Helpline Center reflects Somalia’s sustained commitment to protecting children’s rights and building a safer, more responsive national framework for child welfare.
