Somalia confronts fresh hunger emergency as UN food aid dwindles

During a visit to a nutrition centre on Mogadishu’s outskirts, WFP chief Carl Skau said the agency now has just one-tenth of the resources it possessed in 2022, when it helped avert famine. With six million people experiencing acute food insecurity, the programme expects 1.9 million children under five to become acutely malnourished, including roughly 500,000 needing emergency care. Drought, insecurity and soaring food prices are deepening the shortage, while donor cuts and the diversion of aid to other crises have forced the shutdown of about ten nearby health and nutrition sites.

At the Feynuus Health Center, displaced mothers like Halima Mohamed Hassan struggle to secure food for their families, often walking long distances with malnourished children. Officials from the Somali Disaster Management Agency and local NGOs warn that the situation remains “extremely alarming” and that many families do not know where their next meal will come from.