Dr Hawa Abdi: A Somali National Treasure

Hawa Abdi was a truly great woman whose impact and loss have been felt much further than Somalia.

At a time when her country had fallen apart, Dr Abdi was someone who took responsibility for her community when no one else would.

Her work and the organizations she founded have been more enduring and provided greater stability to women in Somalia than any government in her lifetime. 

For Somalia, she was a national treasure.

Dr Abdi’s work was rightly recognized and celebrated globally. There are thousands of people alive now in Somalia who would not be here were it not for her humanitarian, health and human rights work. Few can claim such a remarkable legacy. Hawa Abdi’s commitment was always to the women she served, and while she has been lost, the needs to which she responded remain. The work of the Dr. Hawa Abdi Foundation and her daughters will continue, and it must continue to be supported.

We mourn and pay our respects to Hawa Abdi. Her work and memory are lessons for the world.