Somali Doctor and Human Rights Activist Hawa Abdi has Died

Dr Abdi, 73, built a hospital, school and feeding centre near the capital, Mogadishu, serving tens of thousands of people. Many of her patients had been displaced by fighting and she treated them for free. Dr Abdi, known as the Mother Teresa of Somalia, remained in the country during the three decades of conflict. In 2011 her hospital was attacked by Islamist militants. She stood her ground and the insurgents withdrew following a protest by hundreds of local women. In a statement, Somalia’s Information Ministry said: “She was a Somali mother who established a free hospital for vulnerable Somali women and children outside Mogadishu.” Dr. Ahmed Hassan, who has known her for many years, told Anadolu Agency by phone she came up with the idea of establishing free medical camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs). “What she has done was heroic and she be will remembered fondly forever in Somalia’s history,” he added. People also took to social media to recall her services for the nation. “She was a doctor who donated her backyard to treat IDP mothers & children in Mogadishu’s outskirts,” Mohamed Abdi, a Twitter user said. Dhiblawe was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.

SOURCE: ANADOLU AGENCY

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