Women who led
Dr Hawa Abdi (Xaawo Cabdi Dhiblaawe)
Dr Hawa Abdi (1947–2020) was one of Somalia's first women doctors. In 1983 she opened a one-room clinic near Afgooye that grew into a 400-bed hospital, and through the war her land became a camp that sheltered up to 90,000 people in 2011. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.
Dr Hawa AbdiHawa Abdi · Xaawo Cabdi
- Lived
- 1947 to 2020
- Known as one of
- Women who led
- Era
- The Republic, 1960 to 1991; Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 3 sources
Who was she?
Dr Hawa Abdi was a Somali doctor and human rights worker. She founded the Dr Hawa Abdi Foundation, whose hospital and camp near Afgooye cared for tens of thousands of people through the war (Wikipedia, Hawa Abdi). Garowe Online called her Somalia's "doctor of the poor" (Garowe Online, August 2020).
Early life and study
She was born in Mogadishu on 17 May 1947. Her mother died when she was 12, and she helped raise her four younger sisters (Wikipedia). In 1964 she won a scholarship from the Women's Committee of the Soviet Union and studied medicine in Kyiv, graduating in 1971 (same source). Back home she worked as a doctor in the mornings and studied law at the Somali National University, earning her degree in 1979 (same source).
The clinic, 1983
In 1983 she opened the Rural Health Development Organization on family land in Lower Shabelle, about 32 km from Mogadishu. It began as one room offering free care to about 24 rural women a day, and grew into a 400-bed hospital (Wikipedia).
Staying through the war
When war came in 1991, her grandmother urged her to use her skills for people in need, and she stayed (Wikipedia). She opened a clinic and school for displaced people and orphans. In 2007 the work became the Dr Hawa Abdi Foundation. In the 2011 drought, 90,000 people lived on the 1,300 acres around her hospital (same source).
In 2010 armed men surrounded the compound and tried to make her close it. She refused, and they left within a week after pressure from local people, the UN and others (Wikipedia). Her daughters, Deqo and Amina, both became doctors and worked with her (same source).
Honours
Glamour named her and her daughters among its 2010 Women of the Year. In 2012 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (Wikipedia). She also received the John Jay Medal for Justice and BET's humanitarian award (same source).
Her death
She died at her home in Mogadishu on 5 August 2020, aged 73 (Wikipedia). Her daughter Deqo Mohamed confirmed her death (Garowe Online). The foundation continues her work (Dr Hawa Abdi Foundation).
In short
A doctor who ran a hospital and camp for displaced people near Mogadishu from 1983. See health in Somalia.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Hawa Abdi · en.wikipedia.org
- Garowe Online, August 2020 · garoweonline.com
- Dr Hawa Abdi Foundation · dhaf.org
Dr Hawa AbdiHawa Abdi · Xaawo Cabdi
- Lived
- 1947 to 2020
- Known as one of
- Women who led
- Era
- The Republic, 1960 to 1991; Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 3 sources
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Connected
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