Anatomy of Aid: The EEC Hospital in Mogadishu (1958-1970)

This article explores the history of a hospital that was built and staffed by the European Economic Community (EEC) in Mogadishu, Somalia, during the 1960s. This case study offers a new perspective on several historiographical themes, such as the Cold War aid competition, the practices of European development assistance and the transition from colonial to postcolonial rule. First, the article illustrates how the Somali government kept the upper hand over the EEC on issues pertaining to the hospital through exploiting Cold War rivalries to secure more funding. Second, it shows how certain Italians remained influential even after Somalia’s independence. Third, it reveals how former colonial officials later acted as agents of decolonisation, and how a postcolonial government exploited the colonial pasts of development experts for its own benefit. Finally, nationalist rivalries among the doctors demonstrate that, in the 1960s, EEC development projects were as uncertain as the European integration process itself.