Somalia is in a deadly drought again. Most humanitarian aid isn’t there this time – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: upload.wikimedia.org)
Abdi Ahmed Farah watched most of his 680 goats die over the past three years. The 70-year-old herder in Puntland now owes money for water deliveries and feeds his family one meal of rice mixed with sugar and oil each day. His wife struggles to produce enough milk for their newborn, the youngest of 22 children. Farah has even considered leaving his family because he can no longer support them.
Record Dry Conditions Take Hold
Experts describe 2026 as the worst drought year on record for Somalia. The October to December rainy season produced the lowest maize and sorghum harvests ever measured, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Rivers have dried up, crops have failed, and livestock losses have mounted across the country. Nearly 6.5 million people now face crisis levels of hunger, a third of the population and a 25 percent jump since January.
Health agencies warn that almost 500,000 children could suffer severe acute malnutrition this year. That figure exceeds the numbers treated during the 2011 and 2022 droughts. Children have already begun dying in some areas, according to the U.N. World Food Program.
Aid Support Falls Sharply
Funding for humanitarian work in Somalia dropped to $531 million in 2025. That amount is less than one-quarter of the $2.38 billion provided in 2022. The United States, once the largest donor, cut contributions significantly, and other sources have not filled the gap.
| Year | Aid Funding |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $2.38 billion |
| 2025 | $531 million |
The World Food Program planned to reach 2 million people with food assistance this year but has so far helped only 300,000. Agencies stretch limited supplies while prices for fuel and imported food rise because of global events. Private water trucks now charge four times more than before, and a 50-kilogram bag of flour costs $40, up one-third from earlier levels.
Displacement and Daily Hardships Grow
The drought has forced another 200,000 people from their homes this year. Many walk for days across dry land with little food or clean water. In one Puntland camp, 20-year-old Shukri and her four children receive almost no food and drink dirty water that causes diarrhea. Her children’s malnutrition has worsened, and she knows several people who have died.
Other families reach the capital, Mogadishu, only to find scarce supplies there as well. Fadumo, a mother of seven, fled Lower Shabelle after the river that supported her farm dried up. Decades of conflict already limited options, and the drought removed the last remaining livelihoods.
Outlook Remains Uncertain
Without a sudden increase in donor support, conditions are expected to deteriorate further. A drought of similar strength in 2022 drew five times the current level of aid. Hospitals in Puntland now treat more children with severe malnutrition using makeshift remedies because therapeutic milk runs out quickly.
Residents such as Muhubo Tahir Omar, a mother of 11, sold her last goats to cover school fees, yet teachers left when payments stopped. She fears not only for her own children but for the survival of entire villages that once depended on livestock trade. Families continue to wait for help that has not arrived in sufficient amounts.
