Malnutrition surges 52% in Somalia as funding crisis shutters clinics

Severe malnutrition cases at International Rescue Committee (IRC) clinics across Somalia have jumped by 52% as drought, flooding, conflict and disease outbreaks collide with a 67% collapse in international humanitarian funding, according to a press release. More than 200 health facilities have already shut down as a result, cutting millions of people off from essential care at a moment when needs are the highest they have been in a decade.

The scale of the crisis is staggering. An estimated 4.8 million people need urgent assistance in 2026, and nearly two million children under five are suffering from acute malnutrition. Malnourished children are eleven times more likely to die than healthy children, and the safety nets that once cushioned the most vulnerable families are rapidly eroding. Successive failed rainy seasons have dried up water sources, wiped out livestock and pushed agro-pastoral households well beyond their limits.

“Somalia is at a breaking point,” said Abukar Mohamud, Acting IRC Somalia Country Director. He described IRC teams meeting parents every day who are walking for hours in search of water, treatment for malnourished children or basic healthcare. With hundreds of facilities closing and funding at its lowest in a decade, he warned that preventable deaths will rise sharply without urgent international action.

Despite severe resource constraints, the IRC is scaling up its response in the worst-hit areas, including rehabilitating eight critical water sources to restore safe water access for around 40,000 people. The organisation is also rolling out a simplified treatment protocol that combines care for severe and moderate acute malnutrition, allowing teams to reach more children faster with fewer resources.

The IRC is calling on donors to act immediately with flexible, rapid funding so frontline teams can keep delivering lifesaving services and stop the crisis from spiralling further out of control.