Physician, midwife and activist Hawa Abdi Diblaawe was born in Somalia in 1947. After high school, she received a scholarship from the Women's Committee of the Soviet Union in 1964. In Kiev, Diblaawe got her degree in medicine in 1971. The following year, Dr Diblaawe began studying law at the Somali National University in Mogadishu. She worked as a doctor in the mornings, and in her free time, Dr Diblaawe studied for her law degree. In 1979, she graduated and also became a lawyer.

All her life, Dr Diblaawe helped the people around her. Before the war started, she ensured that rural people also had access to healthcare. During the civil war that lasted 23 years, Dr Diblaawe ensured that the most vulnerable people received health care, education, food, clean water and shelter. As the war spread further, she provided shelter on her land to more than 90.000 people. Dr Diblaawe died in Somalia in 2020.

Dr Mr Diblaawe founded the Dr Hawa Abdi Foundation with her two daughters. This non-political organisation focuses on building socially and environmentally conscious communities. Its aim is to enable the people of Somalia to stand up for themselves and work for long-term peace in the country.