A new assessment by Islamic Relief in southern Somalia highlights severe food shortages as the country faces a worsening drought. Around 3.3 million people have been displaced from rural areas to camps near Baidoa in the Bay region, with over 70% of them eating one meal a day or less. Children in these camps are showing visible signs of malnutrition and wasting.
Four consecutive failed rainy seasons have destroyed crops and killed livestock, leaving millions across the Horn of Africa in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. In Somalia alone, approximately 5.9 million people require aid, and 1.85 million children are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2026. Neighboring regions in Kenya and Ethiopia are also experiencing severe drought conditions.
The coming months are critical for saving lives, as Somalia enters its dry season with harvests projected to produce only 10% of the average yield in the Bay region. Food scarcity has driven up prices, further straining already vulnerable communities. Islamic Relief is providing food and other aid in Baidoa, supporting rural farmers to stay on their land, rehabilitating water sources in northeast Kenya, and delivering cash and nutrition support in southern Ethiopia.
The drought is part of a broader trend of increasingly frequent extreme weather events driven by climate change, hitting the Horn of Africa hard despite the region contributing minimally to global carbon emissions. The humanitarian response is hindered by global aid cuts; hundreds of health and nutrition centres in Somalia have closed, and UN food assistance has been drastically reduced due to funding shortages.
Islamic Relief’s Country Director in Somalia, Aliow Mohamed, stressed the urgency of early intervention to prevent famine. Livelihoods are collapsing under the cumulative impact of repeated droughts, livestock deaths are widespread, and water scarcity is severe, with displaced families traveling long distances for limited supplies at steep prices.
Local environmental practices, including widespread illegal tree felling for charcoal and logging, have worsened vulnerability to droughts and floods by increasing soil erosion and desertification. Islamic Relief emphasizes the need for alternative livelihoods and long-term solutions to help communities adapt to climate change.
The government of Somalia declared a national drought in November 2025 and has called for urgent action, while the UN has had to cut emergency food aid to tens of thousands of people due to funding shortfalls, further intensifying the humanitarian crisis.
