The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday that its life‑saving food and nutrition assistance in Somalia could end by April without urgent funding, leaving millions at risk of severe hunger.
Two consecutive failed rainy seasons, ongoing conflict, and mass displacement have pushed Somalia into one of the most complex hunger crises in recent years.
WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response Ross Smith said the situation is “deteriorating at an alarming rate” and that immediate support is crucial to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.
The WFP has the operational capacity and field teams ready to respond but urgently needs $95 million to sustain life-saving assistance from March to August 2026, or aid could cease by April.
Approximately 4.4 million people – around a quarter of the population – are experiencing crisis-level food insecurity or worse, including nearly one million facing severe hunger.
Nearly two million children are acutely malnourished, with over 400,000 suffering from severe acute malnutrition. In the past five months, about half a million people have been displaced.
Funding shortages have forced the WFP to reduce assistance. Earlier this year, 2.2 million people received aid, but support now reaches just over 600,000, leaving only one in seven in need.
Nutrition programmes for pregnant women and young children have fallen from nearly 400,000 in October 2025 to 90,000 in December.
“We are at a critical moment; without urgent action, we may be unable to reach the most vulnerable in time, most of them women and children,” Smith said.
Somalia declared a national drought emergency in November 2025 following severe water shortages, crop and livestock losses, and widespread displacement. The current situation mirrors the 2022 crisis, when famine was narrowly avoided thanks to large-scale international support.
“If our already reduced assistance ends, the humanitarian, security, and economic consequences will be devastating, with effects felt far beyond Somalia’s borders,” Smith added.
The WFP called on donors and governments to provide immediate support to ensure timely food aid reaches the most vulnerable populations.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Iran to pay compensation for decades of deaths and damage, adding a new demand to peace talks as Tehran see...
Europe is facing more frequent and prolonged extreme heat, with climate change making heatwaves increasingly intense and widespread, the World Meteoro...
Kyrgyzstan has proposed hosting part of Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries’ warehouse and logistics network, aiming to reduce supply-chain risks a...
One hundred years after the First World War and more than eighty years after the devastation of the Second World War gave rise to the United Nations, humanity once again finds itself living in an age of permanent crisis.
Flights arriving at Catania airport in eastern Sicily were suspended after volcanic ash from a new eruption of Mount Etna drifted into the airspace around the airport, disrupting operations at one of Italy’s busiest aviation hubs.
For months, efforts to secure the Red Sea have focused on what is happening in the water. Naval deployments have increased, governments have expanded maritime cooperation and shipping companies have adapted to persistent security threats.
Greenland has issued a “strong warning” to a U.S. oil company linked to President Donald Trump after drilling equipment was brought ashore without the required government approvals, according to British media.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
Europe is facing more frequent and prolonged extreme heat, with climate change making heatwaves increasingly intense and widespread, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Tuesday.
Kyrgyzstan has proposed hosting part of Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries’ warehouse and logistics network, aiming to reduce supply-chain risks and strengthen trade with Russia.
North Korea has deployed troops, weapons and now, according to a Ukrainian intelligence official, a missile unit to support Russia's war against Ukraine, marking Pyongyang's most significant involvement in a war since the 1950s.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Iran to pay compensation for decades of deaths and damage, adding a new demand to peace talks as Tehran seeks compensation and sanctions relief before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
A criminal court in Damascus has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment