Dahabo Abagaro Bagajo is a Kenyan registered nurse from a pastoralist nomadic community in Marsabit County, the second largest county in Kenya by size.

Human rights issue they are tackling.

Dahabo uses her professional skills in pre- and post-natal care to promote access to maternal healthcare for the mothers and children in her village, where the nearest health facility is 300 Kms away.

Level of innovation, Impact of their work and coverage (Scope)

Noting the lack of access to antenatal healthcare services to women and children, Dahabo started an initiative that she named Healthy Mother Healthy Baby through which she offers health education quality medical care. To reach many people in her community, Dahabo has trained 150 safe motherhood promoters who support her in operating a mobile clinic that accesses even the most remote parts of the county.

Additionally, Dahabo advocates against harmful cultural practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) as well as early/forced marriages that are highly prevalent in the arid and semi-arid counties of Kenya.

Remarkably, until date, 800 women have directly benefited from her antenatal care work. Her community sensitization efforts have not been left behind either as she has cumulatively touched the lives of over 3000 girls.

Degree and level of difficulty in the nominee’s work

While Dahabo has achieved this level of impact in her community, the path has not been a bed of roses. Dahabo notes that she has struggled to promote certain rights as a result of the largely patriarchal society from where comes from.

“My culture has does not acknowledge harmful practices like FGM and early child marriages as a violation of human rights and denying girls opportunities to achieve full potential of their lives. These practices are seen as normal and anyone who dares speak against them is an enemy of the custodians of culture. Personally, I have been attacked, profiled, and stigmatized for publicly denouncing these practices.”

Sustainability of their work- Why the HRD stands out from other working on similar issues

 Despite the many challenges she has faced, her remarkable work and innovative health care service through the safe motherhood promotors has customized a local solution to the hard-to-reach pastoralist realities.

She got an opportunity to undergo a civic leadership course at Wagner, New York which she attributes to sparking her community owned solutions to maternal health care within her community.