Across Somalia, a worsening hunger crisis is unfolding as prolonged drought continues to devastate communities, destroy livelihoods, and force large-scale displacement. The failed September Deyr rains have further deepened the climate emergency, leading to repeated harvest failures and widespread loss of livestock, which many families depend on for survival.
So far this year, more than 500,000 people have been newly displaced, with over 90 percent fleeing because of drought conditions. This adds to the 3.3 million people already uprooted across the country, leaving displaced populations at extreme risk of starvation, according to the UN OCHA’s Somalia Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2026.
Families affected by the crisis describe repeated cycles of displacement and loss. One woman, Fatima, aged 40, shared that she has been forced to flee five times due to both conflict and drought, each time losing land, livestock, and essential possessions. She and others now struggle to feed their families, highlighting the severe human toll of the crisis.
Many displaced people travel for days in search of safety, often surviving on wild plants before reaching overcrowded camps in places like Baidoa and Dollow. Instead of relief, they frequently encounter extreme hardship, with many arriving malnourished, exhausted, and with children too weak to walk.
The humanitarian situation has been further strained by a sharp decline in aid funding. Only about 14 percent of the required humanitarian assistance funding has been received this year, according to OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service, significantly limiting the response capacity.
Compounding the crisis, Somalia was excluded from a $2 billion global humanitarian aid pledge by the United States this year due to concerns over aid diversion, corruption, and past incidents involving humanitarian supplies. Meanwhile, although the April–June rainy season has begun, known as the Gu rains, it is expected to offer only limited relief after years of repeated droughts that have already destroyed agricultural and pastoral livelihoods, leaving urgent humanitarian assistance as the immediate need.
