Mogadishu, Somalia – The hunger crisis in Somalia is once again worsening, as dwindling humanitarian funding forces the World Food Programme (WFP) to scale back its life-saving food assistance. Despite soaring needs across the country, only about 350,000 people will receive food support this November — less than one in ten of those facing hunger.
For families in drought-stricken regions, the reduction feels like a cruel setback after years of hardship. In Baidoa, mothers queue outside distribution centers that no longer have enough rations to go around. Some return home empty-handed, clutching small children whose survival depends on aid that may never come.
The WFP, which has been a lifeline for millions of Somalis, says its capacity to respond has shrunk dramatically due to funding shortfalls. The agency once reached over 4 million people during the peak of last year’s drought. Now, escalating global crises and donor fatigue have left Somalia’s humanitarian operations severely underfunded.
“Every bag of food we can no longer deliver means another family skipping meals, another child at risk of malnutrition,” a field worker in Gedo explained, echoing the sense of despair among aid staff on the ground.
Somalia remains one of the world’s most fragile humanitarian settings. Decades of conflict, repeated droughts, and recent floods have left millions teetering on the edge of survival. The UN estimates that nearly 3.5 million Somalis face crisis-level food insecurity or worse — a number that could rise further if rains fail or if humanitarian access is hindered.
Communities that had begun to rebuild after the last drought are now slipping backward. Farmers who replanted their fields are struggling with poor harvests and high food prices, while displaced families in camps around Mogadishu and Kismayo are increasingly dependent on humanitarian aid that is rapidly drying up.
Local leaders and aid workers warn that the coming months could be devastating without urgent international support. They are calling on donors to step up before the situation spirals into another famine.
For now, hope in many Somali villages is being rationed as tightly as the food itself. Each delivery — no matter how small — is a reminder that survival here depends not only on resilience, but also on the world’s willingness to care.