Mogadishu, Somalia – Severe funding shortages have forced humanitarian agencies to suspend lifesaving programs across Somalia, leaving millions of people on the brink of starvation. The situation is rapidly deteriorating, with aid workers warning that the country could face its worst hunger crisis in years if urgent support is not restored.
According to the United Nations, 4.4 million Somalis are now facing acute food insecurity, while nearly all internally displaced persons (IDP) settlements are in crisis. The ripple effects of the funding cuts have been devastating — food distributions have stopped, water trucks have gone silent, and health centers that once treated malnourished children are closing their doors.
Among the most vulnerable are 1.85 million children suffering from acute malnutrition, many of whom depend on emergency feeding programs that are now running out of supplies. Mothers in makeshift camps outside Baidoa and Beletweyne say they are boiling wild leaves to feed their children as the price of food and water continues to soar.
In central Somalia, the crisis is reshaping traditional life. Pastoralists — long reliant on livestock for survival — are abandoning their herds and migrating toward urban centers in search of food and water.
“We lost most of our animals during the last drought,” said Abdi Hassan, a herder from Galmudug who recently arrived in Dhusamareb with his family. “Now, we have nothing left to sell or eat. The rains came too late, and the aid stopped.”
The humanitarian shortfall comes at a critical moment. After years of conflict, recurring droughts, and climate shocks, many Somali families have exhausted their coping mechanisms. With donor funding shrinking globally, aid organizations say they have been forced to make impossible choices — deciding which districts to serve and which to leave behind.
Despite the challenges, Somali authorities and partners are calling for renewed international attention before the crisis spirals further.
For now, communities across Somalia are doing what they have always done — relying on one another. But without urgent international intervention, the thin thread of resilience holding millions together could soon break.