Around six million people, out of a population of approximately 20 million, face acute food insecurity in Somalia. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), an estimated 56.5 per cent of the population is undernourished.
Somalia is facing a severe humanitarian crisis, with needs continuing to grow as international assistance declines.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to scale back its operations and can assist only 600,000 people. Children are particularly vulnerable: according to UNICEF, nearly 1.9 million children are projected to be affected by malnutrition in 2026, including almost half a million with severe acute malnutrition.
Three overlapping pressures are driving the crisis: recurrent climate shocks, decades of armed conflict and declining international humanitarian funding.
Ongoing climate crisis
Somalia has experienced successive extreme weather events in recent years. The current drought has been compounded by several poor rainy seasons. Wells have run dry, crops have failed and livestock are dying.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned that the ongoing El Niño event could become very strong, with impacts continuing into 2027. Somalia also faces the threat of severe flooding during the October–December rainy season, potentially compounding the effects of drought and displacement.
More than 700,000 people have reportedly been displaced since the beginning of 2026, seeking refuge in areas including Mogadishu and Baidoa. Somalia already has one of the world’s largest populations of internally displaced people, with millions forced from their homes by conflict, insecurity and climate-related disasters, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Successive droughts and floods have undermined livelihoods, leaving communities with fewer resources to withstand further shocks.
35 years of armed conflict
Political and security instability continues to affect Somalia, which has experienced protracted conflict since the fall of Siad Barre’s regime in 1991.
Alongside tensions between rival clans, the Somali Government has been engaged in a prolonged conflict with the armed group Al-Shabaab, which continues to control territory and carry out attacks across the country.
Internal political disputes, including disagreements over constitutional reforms, have further complicated the security situation.
Fighting, mined roads, informal taxes imposed by armed groups and persistent insecurity make the delivery of food, medicines and vaccines dangerous and costly.
In early August, fighting in Baidoa reportedly prevented the UN from delivering nutritional assistance to around 5,000 children. WFP has also warned that worsening food insecurity and the loss of livelihoods increase the vulnerability of young people to recruitment by armed groups and criminal networks.
The Security Council recognised the connection between armed conflict and food insecurity in 2018, when it unanimously adopted resolution 2417 (2018), condemning the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and calling for action to protect access to humanitarian assistance.
Declining international humanitarian funding
As humanitarian needs increase, funding for the response is falling.
Major reductions in international donor contributions have left Somalia’s humanitarian response plan facing a funding shortfall of around 70 per cent, despite a 40 per cent reduction in its funding requirements for 2026.
The consequences are already being felt across essential services.
Between January and June 2026, 380 health centres reportedly closed or scaled back their operations. WFP has also had to suspend emergency food assistance for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people.
According to UNICEF, 205 health and nutrition facilities had closed by 21 August 2026, while funding cuts had contributed to a 30 per cent reduction in health and nutrition service coverage.
Further disruption remains a serious concern. Under severe funding scenarios, as many as 618 health facilities could close nationwide, putting additional pressure on an already overstretched healthcare system.
Children bear the consequences
Children are among those most severely affected by the deterioration in humanitarian conditions.
Between January and June 2026, Somalia recorded a 32 per cent increase in admissions of children with severe acute malnutrition and complications to stabilisation centres, compared with the same period in 2025.
UNICEF has stressed that the increase does not necessarily mean more children are becoming malnourished. Rather, cuts to preventive and community-based nutrition services mean that vulnerable children are less likely to be identified and treated early. By the time they reach specialised facilities, their condition is often more serious.
Reduced access to healthcare and vaccination services also increases the risk of outbreaks of diseases such as measles, whooping cough and cholera.
Speaking in August 2026, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder warned that the closure of local facilities was forcing mothers and children to travel farther for treatment, increasing delays and the risk of preventable deaths.
The situation could deteriorate further. Continued drought, conflict and displacement, combined with the threat of severe flooding associated with El Niño, are placing additional pressure on families whose access to essential services is already shrinking.
UNICEF has urged donors to maintain their support, warning that reducing assistance now risks reversing years of progress in child health and nutrition.
As Elder concluded:
“Protecting children is not a discretionary expense. Preventing suffering is not an inefficiency.”