Somalia Is in a Deadly Drought Again. Most Humanitarian Aid Isn’t There This Time
Aid agencies say funding has fallen to $531 million this year as the World Food Programme reaches only 300,000 of 2 million people targeted.
- The Somali government and United Nations estimate 6.5 million people face crisis levels of hunger, a 25% increase since January, as U.N. World Food Program director Hameed Nuru called 2026 the "worst year on record" for drought.
- Compounding the crisis are aid cuts, most dramatically by the Trump administration, and rising prices from the Iran war, while the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization reported record-low maize and sorghum production during October-December.
- In Usgure, community leader Abshir Hirsi Ali said the local economy has collapsed as pastoralists like Abdi Ahmed Farah struggle with quadrupled water prices and flour costing $40 per 50-kilogram bag.
- Aid funding to Somalia dropped to $531 million in 2025, down from $2.38 billion in 2022, as Antoine Grand, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Somalia, noted the response is five times smaller.
- Food security experts warn nearly a half-million children might face severe acute malnutrition, exceeding 2011 and 2022 levels, and World Vision director Kevin Mackey warned, "when people move, people die," as 200,000 have been displaced this year.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Drought and displacement affect millions in Somalia and Ethiopia
Doctors Without Borders Somalia and Ethiopia’s Somali region are on the front line of the climate crisis. After four consecutive failed rainy seasons, Somalia’s federal government declared a national drought emergency in November 2025. More than 6.5 million people, approximately 1 in every 4 Somalis, now face high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the widely used Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). More than 2 milli…
5 facts to know about the humanitarian crisis in Somalia | Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF ...
As geopolitical conflicts over Somalia’s strategic location and maritime corridors intensify, a humanitarian crisis is quietly worsening within the country at an alarming rate. While global security and economic interests collide in their country, millions of Somalis are living a completely different reality: prolonged drought, food insecurity and the collapse of basic healthcare. What makes this crisis even more severe today is the sharp declin…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 60% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
