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Dear PWHCE reader in Melbourne Australia, You are cordially invited to a talk to be given by Dr Said Aden, entitled "Lessons from Somalia: The Disintegration of a Nation and the Impact on the Society and its Health Infrastructure." Dr Aden is a public health officer with a medical background who left Somalia in 1995 and came to Australia in 1998. Dr Aden worked in Somalia as a government regional health officer and with the outbreak of the civil war he became a UNICEF officer, coordinating humanitarian assistance in the Somali city of Baidoa. Dr Aden's talk will provide a first hand account of the breakdown of a nation-state. He will talk about how this disintegration could have been prevented, lessons that can be learned and what should be done now. Dr Aden's talk is particularly relevant in light of the post-Cold War phenomenon of failed states, in which once successful countries become breeding grounds for terrorists, drug dealers and international crime. The breakdown of the infrastructure of the state, in addition to these international consequences, has serious local consequences for the people of Somalia: hunger, disease, displacement and general anarchy. The talk will be held :-
at Bell's Hotel and Brewery
Melway ref:- 2K E1 Dr Aden personally witnessed the human consequences of the systematic destruction of a functioning government under conditions of civil war. His talk is important because it affords him the opportunity to draw attention to the suffering of his nation, which the world has generally ignored since the premature departure of international forces in 1993. There will be ample opportunity to ask questions and make comments at the conclusion of the talk.
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