Rahma Mohamed

Led the successful ban on single-use plastics in Somalia, inspiring global environmental action.

Rahma Mohamed is a Somali environmental activist and founder of the Green Africa Foundation, recognized for spearheading Somalia's landmark 2021 plastic bag ban. Born in Mogadishu during the civil war, she witnessed firsthand how plastic waste choked waterways and endangered marine life. Her grassroots campaign combined education workshops with lobbying efforts, culminating in Somalia becoming one of the first African nations to enforce a strict plastic production and import ban. This legislation, modeled after Kenya's 2017 law, now serves as a template for coastal nations facing plastic pollution crises.

Mohamed's work extends to creating sustainable alternatives through community cooperatives producing biodegradable bags from banana fibers. Partnering with the UN Environment Programme, her initiatives have trained over 5,000 youth in eco-entrepreneurship. In 2023, she launched Plastic Free Coastlines, an app mapping ocean pollution hotspots. Her TEDx talk 'Plastic is the New Poverty' (2022) has garnered 2.3 million views, highlighting how plastic pollution disproportionately impacts marginalized communities.