# Fadumo Dayib (Faadumo Daayib)

> Fadumo Dayib (born 1972): former refugee, nurse and UN health expert, first woman to run for President of Somalia (2016).

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/fadumo-dayib/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who is she?

Fadumo Qasim Dayib, known as Deeqo, is a Somali politician and public health expert ([Wikipedia, Fadumo Dayib](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fadumo_Dayib)). She was the first woman to run for President of Somalia, in the November 2016 election (same source). This page covers her public life.

## Early life

She was born in 1972 in Thika, Kenya, to Somali parents ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fadumo_Dayib)). Her mother sold tea by the roadside (same source). In 1989 the family was sent from Nairobi to Mogadishu (same source). As war came, they fled and became refugees in Finland ([Harvard Kennedy School, "Fadumo Dayib: shifting from dream to action"](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/more/student-life/student-stories/fadumo-dayib-shifting-dream-action)). See [Somalis in Finland](/en/diaspora/finland/).

## Learning late, studying far

She learned to read and write at 14 ([Harvard Kennedy School](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/more/student-life/student-stories/fadumo-dayib-shifting-dream-action)). Her mother learned at 58 (same source). In Finland she worked as a nurse and as a translator for Somali newcomers (same source). She earned two master's degrees in Finland ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fadumo_Dayib)). In 2015 she was a Mason Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School ([Harvard Kennedy School](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/more/student-life/student-stories/fadumo-dayib-shifting-dream-action)).

## Health work for the UN

She worked for the United Nations in Fiji, Kenya, Liberia and Somalia ([Harvard Kennedy School](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/more/student-life/student-stories/fadumo-dayib-shifting-dream-action)). In 2005 she set up maternal health clinics in Somalia ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fadumo_Dayib)). In Fiji and Liberia she set up HIV prevention work and trained health staff (same source). See [health in Somalia](/en/society/health-in-somalia/).

## Running for president

She announced her run in 2014 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fadumo_Dayib)). She was one of eighteen presidential candidates in 2016 (same source). Her platform included action against corruption and against female genital cutting (same source). She received threats for standing (same source). She said she ran for her daughters, her mother and other women: "We are here" ([Harvard Kennedy School](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/more/student-life/student-stories/fadumo-dayib-shifting-dream-action)).

## After 2016

In 2017 she became the first Somali woman to serve as a UN country director in Somalia ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fadumo_Dayib)).

## In short

The first woman to declare as a candidate for President of Somalia, in 2016.

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