Save the Children has warned that Somalia is facing a worsening humanitarian crisis driven by drought, rising hunger, and a sharp decline in international aid. A new report highlights that the collapse of funding in 2025 could lead to outcomes similar to the devastating 2011 famine, which claimed over 250,000 lives, with children at the greatest risk.
Food insecurity has escalated rapidly, with the number of people facing crisis-level hunger rising from 3.4 million in early 2025 to an estimated 6.5 million a year later. This surge is closely linked to significant cuts in humanitarian funding and poor seasonal rains, which have intensified the effects of drought and reduced access to food and water.
Funding for Somalia’s humanitarian response has dropped sharply, from over half of required levels in 2024 to less than 30 percent in 2025, and further down to around 15 percent by April 2026. As a result, critical services have been scaled back, including the closure of more than 300 nutrition centres that provide essential care for malnourished children, while preventive programmes have also been reduced.
The report warns that without urgent financial support, more facilities will shut down, supply chains will be disrupted, and vulnerable children may be unable to access life-saving treatment. Additional global pressures, including geopolitical tensions affecting supply chains, could further worsen the situation by delaying essential aid deliveries.
Despite repeated crises, including droughts, conflict, and disease outbreaks, Somali families have demonstrated resilience by sharing limited resources and adapting to difficult conditions. However, the report stresses that local coping mechanisms are not enough to prevent a large-scale humanitarian disaster without sustained international support.
Aid agencies caution that recent funding cuts risk reversing years of progress in areas such as child survival and immunisation. The situation underscores the urgent need for renewed global commitment to humanitarian assistance to prevent further deterioration and protect millions of vulnerable people, particularly children, across Somalia.
