Health and Nutrition

Improving access to essential health services and good nutrition for the communities who need it most.

We focus on mothers, children, and vulnerable groups — strengthening care where it matters, from the first days of life through every stage that follows.

Caring for Mothers and Children

Poor health and malnutrition often strike hardest where access to care is weakest. ARD works to close that gap, improving access to essential health services and nutrition support for individuals and families across Somalia and Kenya. Our focus remains firmly on those most at risk — mothers, children, and vulnerable groups whose health outcomes shape the future of entire communities.

Every programme is delivered in partnership with local health systems, not in place of them. We strengthen existing services, train community health workers, and ensure that care reaches people where they live, rather than requiring them to travel long distances in moments of need.

Good health begins long before a clinic visit. Our teams work within communities to identify malnutrition early, promote preventive care, and connect families to the services they need — building not just healthier individuals, but healthier, more resilient communities over time.

COMMUNITY-BASED CARE

Bringing services closer to where people live.

MOTHER AND CHILD FOCUS

Prioritizing the most nutritionally vulnerable.

EARLY DETECTION

Screening for malnutrition before it becomes critical.

TRAINED LOCAL WORKERS

Building health capacity within communities themselves.

REFERRAL PATHWAYS

Connecting patients to specialized care when needed.

SYSTEM STRENGTHENING

Supporting, not replacing, existing health services.

What We Provide

PRIMARY HEALTH CARE

Access to basic health care remains out of reach for many families across Somalia and Kenya. We support primary health services that treat common illnesses, provide essential medicines, and connect patients to further care when needed. By working alongside local health facilities and workers, we help ensure that care is available close to home, not just in distant urban centers.

MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH

The health of a mother and her child shapes the future of an entire family. We support antenatal and postnatal care, safe delivery practices, and routine child health services that reduce preventable illness and death. Our programmes place particular emphasis on reaching pregnant women and young children in hard-to-reach areas, where the risks of poor health outcomes are often highest.

NUTRITION SUPPORT

Malnutrition can have lifelong consequences, especially for young children. We screen for and treat acute malnutrition, provide nutritional supplements, and educate families on infant and young child feeding practices. These efforts work hand-in-hand with our health programming, ensuring that treatment is paired with the knowledge families need to sustain good nutrition long after our support ends.