Somali Family Care Network (SFCN) was founded by Raqiya D. Abdalla in 2001. is a Somali sociologist and former politician. She has held a number of senior policy-making posts in governmental, non-governmental and international institutions, including as Vice Minister of Health of Somalia. She was also a founding member of the Somali Women’s Democratic Organization (SWDO), serving as the group’s Acting Chairperson and Vice President.

Before establishing SFCN, Abdalla conducted workshops nationwide on reproductive rights with refugee women from Iraq and Somalia as a consultant for Immigrant and Refugee Services of America (IRSA), a national voluntary agency that resettles refugees in the US. Her tenure as a consultant with IRSA offered Abdalla the opportunity to talk with Somali leaders and listen to the struggles and accomplishments they experienced in their efforts to serve the US Somali community. Through these discussions, it became clear to her that, while Somali leaders possessed a profound will and desire to advocate on behalf of their community, the grassroots organizations from which they organized these efforts often lacked the institutional capacity necessary to effectively meet the needs of their constituents. After leading SFCN for 15 years, Raqiya retired in 2017.