Somalia

Somalia is facing one of its most complex hunger crises in years, as conflict, displacement, funding cuts and climate shocks converge to devastating effect. High prices linked to the Middle East crisis are also fuelling the emergency.

Nearly one third of Somalia’s population – 5.4 million people – are facing acute hunger or worse, including 1.5 million people in emergency levels of hunger.

Families already weakened by drought now face the threat of floods linked to El Niño, while insecurity continues to disrupt livelihoods, markets, access to services and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

There is a risk of famine in Baidoa district, affecting 26,000 people facing internal displacement, under a worst-case scenario between October and December 2026. Acute malnutrition is expect to reach extremely critical levels among people facing displacement in Beledweyne city.  

In fact, Somalia remains one of the world’s worst malnutrition crises, with nearly 2 million children expected to suffer acute malnutrition and over 430,000 facing severe acute malnutrition without urgent treatment.

The World Food Programme (WFP) remains the backbone of the humanitarian response in Somalia, delivering the majority of food assistance and providing the logistics, nutrition, cash, and partner support needed to reach some of the country’s hardest-to-access communities.

But our reach is now far below the scale of need: 1.1 million children and mothers are not receiving nutrition assistance following the closure of over 230 nutrition centres, and 90 percent of children facing moderate acute malnutrition will not receive support from October onwards. 

The window to prevent catastrophe is still open. WFP has helped push back famine in Somalia before and is ready to scale up again.

WFP urgently requires US$162 million to sustain life-saving assistance for the most vulnerable people through to March 2027 and to prevent further catastrophe.