Somalia Food Crisis Worsens as Aid Funding Falls Short
Mogadishu: Nearly 6.5 million Somalis are facing high levels of hunger, and more than 1.8 million children are suffering from acute malnutrition as a worsening drought grips the country, the Federal Government of Somalia and United Nations agencies warned in a joint statement issued today.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released by the Food and Agriculture Organization, UNICEF, World Food Programme and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, about one-third of Somalia’s population — 6.5 million people — is expected to experience crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 and 4) by March 2026. This marks an increase of 1.7 million people since January.
The report estimates that around two million people are already living in Emergency conditions (IPC Phase 4), while more than 1.8 million children under the age of five will face acute malnutrition this year. Of these, nearly half a million are projected to suffer from severe malnutrition.
The drought has devastated agriculture and pastoral livelihoods, triggering widespread crop failures, livestock deaths and large-scale displacement. The Deyr cereal harvest in southern Somalia is estimated to be 83 per cent below the long-term average for the period 1995–2025, while livestock conception and birth rates across the country are far lower than normal.
“The drought emergency in Somalia has deepened alarmingly, with soaring water prices, limited food supplies, dying livestock, and very little humanitarian funding,” said George Conway, Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. “Urgent life-saving assistance is essential to save lives and prevent a collapse of pastoral and farming livelihoods. The coming months are critical, with no rains expected until the next Gu season between April and June.”
Although the Gu rains may bring some relief, UN agencies warned that the situation will remain critical in the months ahead. Food security and malnutrition levels are expected to deteriorate further until at least the end of March 2026.
Humanitarian needs remain immense, but current assistance is addressing only the most basic survival requirements. Severe funding shortfalls have forced aid agencies to reduce food rations and limit the number of people receiving life-saving support in areas such as nutrition, health, and water and sanitation.
While humanitarian agencies say they have the capacity and technical expertise to mount a comprehensive response, they remain constrained by insufficient funding. Both the Somali government and the UN cautioned that recent budget cuts have led to the suspension or scaling back of critical programmes in food security, health, nutrition and WASH sectors.
Childhood illness remains widespread across the country, compounded by limited access to health services and outbreaks of cholera, measles and diphtheria, particularly in southern and central regions.
Mohamud Moallim Abdulle, Commissioner of the Somalia Disaster Management Agency, described the situation as a national emergency.
“The severity of this drought is undeniable and deeply alarming,” he said. “Millions of our people are facing crisis levels of hunger, with many families already in emergency conditions and an unprecedented number of children suffering from acute malnutrition. Somalia is once again at a critical crossroads as climate shocks, displacement and declining humanitarian funding push vulnerable communities beyond their coping capacity.”
He referred to deaths reported in Bardhere earlier the same day as a stark reminder of the human cost of the crisis. “Behind this emergency are real families in distress,” he said, calling on international partners, the Somali diaspora, businesses and civil society to urgently scale up support. He added that SoDMA remains committed to strengthening coordination, transparency and accountability in the use of limited resources.
The drought has been driven by below-average rainfall during the Deyr season (October–December 2025), followed by the current dry Jilaal season (January–March). These prolonged dry conditions have intensified food insecurity, disrupted livelihoods and accelerated displacement across large parts of the country.
In a joint appeal, the Somali government and UN agencies urged donors to act immediately to prevent further deterioration by scaling up life-saving food assistance and malnutrition treatment, expanding shock-responsive social protection and social safety nets, strengthening early warning and anticipatory action systems, and adopting an integrated approach linking food security, nutrition, health and WASH programmes.
For 2026, humanitarian partners estimate that $852 million is required to continue providing life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable people in Somalia. The agencies stressed that sustained and flexible funding is essential to meet urgent needs, prevent further loss of life and protect fragile gains made in recent years.
– global bihari bureau
