By Hafsat Ngulde
More than 6.5 million people in Somalia are experiencing severe food insecurity as a prolonged drought, economic shocks, and reduced humanitarian funding converge into one of the country’s worst hunger crises in years. UN agencies and Somali authorities warn the situation is accelerating into emergency conditions.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system, cited by the United Nations, projects that roughly one-third of Somalia’s population will face crisis-level hunger or worse through early 2026. The projection includes rapidly rising malnutrition among children under five.
Humanitarian officials say the crisis is driven by repeated failed rainy seasons that have devastated pastoral livelihoods across central and southern Somalia. The disruption has collapsed livestock markets, leaving families without income or food reserves.
Aid agencies have linked the worsening conditions to a combination of climate stress and funding shortfalls that have reduced food distribution programs. Reduced assistance has forced ration cuts in multiple regions, according to U.N. field reports.
In displaced communities outside Mogadishu, families describe increasingly limited access to food, water, and healthcare. Many households rely on emergency food distributions that arrive irregularly due to logistical and financial constraints.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization reported that drought conditions have intensified across Galmudug, Hirshabelle, and Jubaland states. Livestock deaths and crop failures have undermined traditional coping systems that depend on seasonal rainfall cycles.
A February 2026 FAO assessment indicated that approximately 6.5 million people face high levels of acute food insecurity, with more than 1.8 million children at risk of acute malnutrition across the country.
Health agencies warn that malnutrition rates are rising fastest among displaced populations living in informal settlements. These areas are often overcrowded and lack consistent access to clean water and sanitation services.
In southern Somalia described widespread livestock losses, with pastoral families reporting entire herds dying after consecutive dry seasons. The collapse of herds has eliminated both food supply and household income streams.
The World Food Programme has previously warned that humanitarian assistance in Somalia has been scaled back due to funding gaps, forcing prioritisation of the most vulnerable households. This has left many communities without consistent aid coverage.
The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia has described soaring water prices in drought-affected regions, where borehole access is increasingly limited and informal water markets have expanded rapidly.
Food prices have risen in parallel with supply chain disruptions, driven by reduced agricultural output and transport challenges linked to insecurity in parts of southern Somalia.
Children remain the most exposed demographic, with U.N. projections estimating that nearly 1.84 million children under five will suffer acute malnutrition in 2026 if conditions persist.
Medical facilities in Mogadishu and regional hubs report increasing admissions of severely malnourished children requiring therapeutic feeding programs. Health workers say admissions often arrive late due to transport barriers.
Climate scientists and humanitarian analysts say Somalia’s drought cycle has intensified over the past decade, with multiple consecutive failed rainy seasons compounding structural vulnerability in rural economies.
The current crisis follows earlier emergency alerts issued during the 2022–2023 drought period, when millions were also displaced and livestock losses reached historic levels, according to previous U.N. reporting.
Experts say recovery has been incomplete since those earlier shocks, leaving households with depleted assets and reduced resilience capacity when the latest drought cycle began.
Humanitarian organisations are urging immediate funding increases and expanded food delivery corridors, warning that delays could push already vulnerable populations into famine-like conditions in some districts.
