Somalia is reeling from one of its most severe humanitarian crises in recent memory as prolonged drought pushes millions to the brink of starvation. According to a joint statement from the Somali government and the United Nations, an estimated 6.5 million people now face acute hunger, with hundreds of thousands displaced and struggling to survive in makeshift camps.
The national drought emergency declared late last year reflects years of failed rainy seasons, decimating water supplies, crippling crop production and causing livestock to die in unprecedented numbers across the country’s agricultural regions.
More than a third of those affected are children, amplifying concerns about malnutrition and long-term health impacts. In displacement centres around Mogadishu, families arrive weakened, with many having walked for days in search of food and water.
Humanitarian agencies are sounding urgent alarm bells. The World Food Programme (WFP) has already reduced its aid footprint due to funding shortfalls — assisting just over 600,000 people compared with millions earlier — and warns assistance could halt completely by April without fresh funding.
Farmers and pastoralists have endured collapsing livelihoods. “Our farms were destroyed, our livestock died, and water sources became too far away,” said one displaced woman in a camp outside the capital, reflecting the conditions facing countless families.
Experts note that even if seasonal rains arrive in April–June, millions would remain in crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity, as predicted by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
International partners have pledged support, but the gap between aid needed and available resources remains vast, threatening to deepen the crisis as markets tighten and commodity prices rise.
Somalia’s drought is part of a wider regional pattern of climate extremes that have battered the Horn of Africa for years, raising fears about the long-term resilience of food systems and pastoralist communities.
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