Somalia: From Facebook Appeals to a Lifesaving Network - One Man's Mission to Transform Blood Donation in Somaliland

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a Horn Diplomat report from Hargeisa dated 21 July 2026, reported on Abdilaahi Abdi Muse, a Somaliland medical laboratory professional known as “Shicib,” whose volunteer work connecting patients to blood donors has developed into a mobile platform called Badbaado Blood. The report says Muse began helping families find compatible donors in 2014 while still in secondary school, initially using Facebook posts, phone calls and personal contacts.

According to Horn Diplomat, the informal network grew over 12 years into a wider system used by patients, hospitals and health workers seeking urgent transfusions, including during conflict-related emergencies and other periods of high demand. Muse told the outlet that doctors and hospitals across Somaliland regularly contacted him when blood was scarce or when patients needed specific blood types. The report says he helped coordinate donations for 405 patients in 2024, across major blood groups, with requests extending beyond Somaliland to Somalia, Ethiopia and Bangladesh.

Badbaado Blood is described as a locally developed digital platform intended to shorten the time between an emergency request and a matching donor response. Hospitals or patients can submit requests, which are verified before compatible donors are notified based on blood type and location. The platform also uses WhatsApp alerts and includes information on hospitals with blood banks, with plans to expand to more facilities in Somaliland and nearby states.

The report frames the initiative as a grassroots response to a broader gap in emergency blood access, noting that families have often depended on relatives, friends and social media appeals. While not presented as a government or donor-backed programme, Badbaado Blood reflects a wider trend of using digital tools to improve urgent health coordination in settings with limited centralized blood systems.