Mustafa Saeed's art exhibition in Nairobi highlights Somalia's sanitation crisis

The artistic works of a famous Somali artist are finally on exhibition in Nairobi.

The works are on display along with those of other Africa's leading artists at the Macmillan Library.

Mustafa's display in Nairobi is under the theme of water, in which he showcases the sanitation challenges in Somalia.

Water, an essential commodity, is still scarce in the Horn of Africa's country grappling with stability challenges.

Mustafa notes that he is using his images to show how Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have been ignored in his country. They show the magnitude of not paying attention to sanitation.

"Intestinal worms, also known as parasitic worms, are one of the most prevalent types of intestinal parasites. The same cyclical processes continue to hinder the delivery of interventions to the people that need it most," notes Mustafa.

According to the artist, lack of stability prevents aid delivery to the correct people, and the lack of water and basic needs makes disease prevention difficult.

An image of a woman sitting on water vessels depicts the difficulties women undergo to get water to their households in Somalia. (Photo: Barack Oduor)

"Through this series, I intend to symbolise feelings of neglect, to be a prisoner of Neglected Tropical Diseases," adds Mustafa.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of conditions caused by a variety of pathogens (including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins) and associated with devastating health, social and economic consequences.

Mustafa is a Somali-born artist based in Hargeisa, Somaliland. His multidisciplinary work spans photography, graphics, and sound, blending poetic symbolism with socio-political critique to address themes such as war, conflict, and the environment.

He is a prominent voice in contemporary Somali art. Mustafa is the founder of Fankeenna, a youth-led art platform in Hargeisa that serves as a studio, gallery, and workspace for local artists. He is also a contributor to Everyday Africa, a collective of photographers dedicated to portraying the diverse and everyday experiences across the African continent.

Awards

He has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the 2022 ART WORKS Projects' Emerging Lens Mentorship Programme grant and a 2015 grant from the Arab Documentary Photography Programme, supported by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, the Magnum Foundation, and the Prince Claus Fund.

His work has been exhibited internationally in prestigious venues, such as the Photoville Festival in New York (2024), the AFRICA FOTO FAIR in Abidjan (2022), and the Photo Vogue Festival in Milan (2022).

His past exhibitions include major group shows like the UNSEEN Photo Fair (Amsterdam), Lumieres d'Afriques (Paris), and AddisFotoFest (Addis Ababa). He has also collaborated with leading international media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC, Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian, where his striking visuals and narratives have reached a global audience.

Mustafa Saeed's display in Nairobi is under the theme of water, in which he showcases the sanitation challenges in Somalia.

In addition to his exhibitions and media contributions, Mustafa's work continues to push the boundaries of visual storytelling, offering a profound exploration of the human condition amid the complexities of conflict and environmental change. He is a collaborator and contributor to the ongoing research project, The Anarchist Citizenship, presented at Framer Framed in October 2024.

According to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), only 52 per cent of the population in Somalia has access to a basic water supply. Limited regulation of private water suppliers often leads to expensive prices, forcing families to fetch water from far and from unsafe open wells. Open defecation is common practice and 28 percent of the population defecate in the open.

Without access to clean water, toilets and good hygiene practices, the risk of contracting easily preventable diseases, such as diarrhoea, acute watery diarrhoea, cholera, and respiratory infections, is high. In the past three years, more than 900 people in Somalia, the majority of them children under the age of five, have died from cholera. When women are forced to give birth in these poor conditions the lives of mothers and babies are also at stake.

Jefferson Ochieng' who spoke to The Eastleigh Voice at the exhibition said the images displayed by Mustafa and other artists are significant in showcasing the societal challenges that Africans are undergoing.

"You need to see the marvel of what the artists are displaying here to know that Africans are undergoing immeasurable problems that need immediate action by governments and concerned stakeholders," said Jefferson.

Other artists from the continent having their works displayed at the MacMillan Library in Nairobi are Ala Kheir (Sudan), Sarah Waiswa( Uganda(, Aida Muluneh (Ethiopia) John Moussa Kalapo ( Mali) and Meset Argaw (Ethiopia).