Somalia’s children face catastrophic hunger as drought wipes out food and livestock

Children in Somalia are again on the brink of catastrophe as one of the worst hunger crises in years tightens its grip, Save the Children warned. After four consecutive failed rainy seasons, food reserves have been wiped out, livestock have perished, and millions of families are running out of ways to survive. Aid groups say the coming months will be decisive in preventing large-scale starvation and child deaths.

A new assessment by Save the Children across six regions shows the situation has reached alarming levels. In Mogadishu’s Benadir region, 93% of households report “poor” food consumption—nearly total depletion of reserves—while only 2% of families have an adequate diet. Similar conditions were found in central Somalia’s Galgadud region, where nine out of ten households face severe food shortages. The lack of food is also forcing children out of school; over 1,100 students dropped out in Gedo alone, and almost half of families in Galgadud have withdrawn children to help search for food or migrate.

Families are resorting to extreme coping measures just to stay alive. In Gedo, every household surveyed said it was skipping meals or reducing portions. In Benadir and Hiiran, over 85% of families are doing the same—many selling off livestock and tools, cutting off their last sources of meat, milk, and income. The January–March dry season, following two years of failed rains, has only made conditions worse.

Across Somalia, an estimated 4.4 million people—nearly a quarter of the population—are facing acute food insecurity, while 1.85 million children under five are expected to suffer severe malnutrition by mid‑2026. At the same time, humanitarian funding has dropped sharply: food aid now reaches just 350,000 people, down from more than a million last August. More than 200 health centers have closed and protection services for 1.7 million people have been cut off.

“This crisis represents a betrayal of the world’s most vulnerable children,” said Mohamed Mohamud Hassan, Save the Children’s Country Director in Somalia. “Many families are surviving on one meal a day. Children are arriving at health centers in critical condition. Without urgent support, we will lose countless lives in the next few months.”

A local representative from Afgooye described entire communities losing everything: “Over 90% of our livestock is gone. Our crops have failed. Families arrive at camps with nothing—not even cooking pots.”

Save the Children is urgently appealing for more international funding to respond to the needs of 6 million people in Somalia—focusing on nutrition, health, and child protection while supporting long‑term resilience. In December 2025, the organization reached more than 84,000 people, including 52,000 children, through cash assistance, nutrition, and health programs.