Somalia: Humanitarian aid cuts leave millions of children vulnerable to hunger

MOGADISHU, 22 AUGUST 2026 —

Somalia’s Child Nutrition Crisis Deepens as Aid Cuts Force Clinic Closures, UN Warns

Among those affected is Hajio, a mother who once lived a stable life with a home and children in school in southern Somalia. After losing all her cattle to drought, she fled to Burhakaba in search of aid. Instead of support, she received only clothes and tomatoes from a local community. “She received nothing from the international community,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told journalists in Geneva.

The funding shortfall has forced the closure of 211 health and nutrition facilities so far, with projections indicating the number could rise to 618 if the crisis persists. The immediate consequence has been a 32% surge in admissions of severely malnourished children to stabilisation centres compared to last year — not because more children are falling ill, but because preventive and community-based nutrition services have vanished. “Fewer facilities mean longer journeys for mothers and their babies; longer journeys mean delayed treatment; delayed treatment means more severe illness and a greater risk of preventable death,” Elder warned.

Somalia’s humanitarian needs are escalating sharply. This year, nearly 1.9 million children are projected to suffer from malnutrition, including 460,000 facing the deadly “severe acute” form. The country has endured decades of civil conflict, mass displacement and extreme food insecurity. Compounding the crisis are rising fuel and fertiliser costs linked to regional tensions, including the US-Iran conflict, alongside intensifying climate shocks. Northern Somalia grapples with severe drought, while the strengthening El Niño weather pattern threatens to trigger catastrophic flooding.

“It is a brutal contradiction: resources to protect vulnerable children are being cut just as the pressures pushing Somalia’s children into crisis are intensifying,” Elder said.

Despite these challenges, UNICEF has played a pivotal role in Somalia’s humanitarian response. Between 2021 and 2025, the agency supported over 2.25 million children with severe acute malnutrition, achieving a cure rate of 97.6% in 2025. It has also delivered cholera vaccines to more than one million people, provided education to over 100,000 students and rehabilitated children forcibly recruited into armed groups. “We have the programmes. We have the partners. What is missing is the funding,” Elder stressed.

The funding gap threatens to reverse years of progress. “Years of generous donor investment in children’s futures are being undone far faster than they were built,” Elder cautioned. “Protecting children is not a discretionary expense. Preventing suffering is not an inefficiency. And dismantling effective aid at the moment of greatest need is not a saving — it is a decision to pay more later, in money, in security, in lost development, and, for some children, in lives.”

The crisis in Somalia comes as global humanitarian funding faces unprecedented strain, with donor priorities shifting amid geopolitical and economic uncertainties. While international agencies continue to call for urgent financial support, the immediate outlook remains dire for millions of families already pushed to the brink.

Additional reporting by UN News staff in Geneva and Mogadishu.

Related: UNICEF · James Elder · Mogadishu