Women Leading Change

Leadership does not always look like a title.

In southern Somalia, it can look like a woman carrying a small, coloured measuring tape and walking through an informal settlement where displaced families are living. Ruqiya* knocks gently on a neighbour’s door.

On International Women’s Day, we honour women like her.

Ruqiya is a care group promoter. Under her supervision are 45 volunteer women. Each volunteer supports 15 households in her own neighbourhood. Every two weeks, they meet to learn about health, nutrition and hygiene. Then they carry that knowledge back into their communities. From home to home.

“I am always happy to see the community improve and change,” she says.
“Working with them gives me joy.”

Her work is not loud. But it saves lives.

A Mother’s Relief

One of the homes that Ruqiya showed us, to demonstrate the work of the volunteers, belonged to Khadra*, a 20-year-old mother of two.

After her divorce, Khadra returned to the region where she was born. The single mother now lives in an informal settlement and also cares for her elderly, blind father. In order to provide for her family, she carries heavy loads of cement at construction sites. It is exhausting work, not only for a young woman, but it is the only way for her to survive.

She noticed something was wrong with her son Ali.

“I had a feeling,” Khadra says. “His feet and legs were swollen.”

Ruqiya measured Ali’s arm, the diagnosis was clear: severe acute malnutrition.

“She asked me to go to the health facility as soon as possible,” the mother recalls. “She told me I could receive free nutrition services for my boy.”

Ali is now receiving treatment in the nutrition programme of a nearby health facility supported by Medair.

Without that visit, the outcome could have been very different.

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The Importance of Care Groups in Somalia

Southern Somalia faces repeated drought, conflict, displacement and economic hardship. Families who once relied on livestock have lost their animals. Many have moved into informal settlements in search of safety and opportunity. Food insecurity remains a constant pressure.

In fragile environments like this, malnutrition does not always appear dramatically. A child grows weaker. Appetite fades. But families may not recognise the signs or may delay seeking care.

The Care Group model was designed for exactly this kind of context.

Women from the community are trained to visit households regularly. They share practical advice on pregnancy, breastfeeding and hygiene. They screen children for malnutrition. They identify pregnant and lactating mothers who need support. And they act as a trusted link between families and health facilities.

They do not replace the health system.
They strengthen it.

“Before we started, mothers used to deliver at home,” Nasteexo*, another care group promoter, explains. “Now most deliver in the facility. Before, malnourished children suffered in silence at home. Now caretakers understand the importance of early detection and they get treatment in the facilities.”

This is women leading change within their own communities.

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Knowledge That Protects

Ayaan*, a mother living in a neighbouring informal settlement understands this deeply. Her family once lived as pastoralists. Repeated drought destroyed most of their livestock. With too little left to survive, they moved to an informal settlement. For more than five years, care group volunteers have visited her household.

“These messages are very important and have improved our health and daily lives,” she says.

When her son recently became weaker and started eating less, she recognised the warning signs.

“I realised something was wrong. He became thinner.”

She brought him to the Medair-supported health facility, where he is now receiving nutrition treatment and monitoring.

In 2025 alone, Medair’s care group volunteers screened more than 3,600 children for malnutrition in these communities. Hundreds were identified early and referred for lifesaving treatment.

Behind every number is a care group volunteer who acted in time.

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Women Strengthening Communities

Across this programme area in Southern Somalia, 189 women are leading Medair’s Care Groups. Together, they reach more than 2,800 households every month.

Because they return again and again, trust grows. Behaviour begins to shift. More mothers seek antenatal care and deliver safely at health facilities. More newborns are breastfed within their first hour of life. More infants receive exclusive breastfeeding during their most vulnerable months.  

These changes do not happen because of a single awareness campaign.
They happen because women show up consistently.

“I like being the link between the community and the facility,” Ruqiya says.
“This motivates me to continue doing this work.”

On International Women’s Day, we celebrate that motivation. We celebrate the resilience of the young single mother. We celebrate the displaced mother rebuilding her family’s future. And we celebrate the volunteers who refuse to let families suffer in silence.

Standing Together

Your support makes this possible.

It equips women with training and supervision.
It strengthens the bridge between home and health facility.
It ensures that children are found before it is too late.

In southern Somalia, women are not waiting for change. They are creating it.

And today, on International Women’s Day, we honour their leadership. And the partnership that makes it possible.

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*Names have been changed for protection.

This content was produced with resources gathered by Medair field and headquarters staff. The views expressed herein are those solely of Medair and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organisation.  

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