Somalia is facing a severe malnutrition crisis and urgently needs additional humanitarian funding to prevent conditions deteriorating further, the World Food Programme has warned.
Around six million people in Somalia - nearly one in three of the population - are currently experiencing acute hunger, while 1.9 million children are acutely malnourished, according to the agency.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said it may be forced to suspend humanitarian assistance from July if new funding is not secured. The agency has already been compelled to significantly scale back its operations, reducing the number of people it can support from two million to around 500,000.
Matthew Hollingworth, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations, said Somalia is facing one of the world’s most severe malnutrition emergencies.
“Somalia faces a really severe malnutrition crisis and is one of the biggest malnutrition hotspots in the world,” he said, speaking to reporters in Geneva via video link from Rome.
The crisis has been driven by multiple failed rainy seasons, which have devastated crops and livestock, alongside ongoing conflict and insecurity.
Somalia continues to face overlapping security challenges, including a long-running Islamist insurgency by Al-Shabaab, as well as political tensions between the federal government in Mogadishu and regional authorities.
Humanitarian agencies warn that the combination of climate shocks and instability is pushing vulnerable communities into increasingly dangerous levels of food insecurity.
Aid agencies say the situation is now more difficult than during the 2022 drought emergency, when Somalia was on the brink of famine but large-scale international assistance helped avert the worst outcomes.
This time, however, humanitarian organisations are facing severe funding shortages, limiting their ability to respond at scale. The WFP has warned that without urgent financial support, life-saving operations could be forced to shut down.
The humanitarian response is also being affected by global supply chain disruptions, including delays of up to 40 days in the delivery of ready-to-use therapeutic food used to treat severe malnutrition.
Hollingworth said these disruptions, combined with reduced funding, are severely constraining emergency food assistance programmes.
The WFP has urged international donors to step up support to prevent further deterioration of the crisis. Without immediate intervention, aid agencies warn that millions more people could face extreme hunger in the coming months, deepening an already critical humanitarian emergency in Somalia.
The U.S. military announced that it has completed a new wave of strikes against Iranian military targets under U.S. President Donald Trump's orders. T...
Peace. Prosperity. New political forces. A technology-driven economy. Following Armenia’s parliamentary election, AnewZ took to the streets of Yerev...
Officials from more than 20 oil-producing countries have agreed on a roadmap to strengthen international cooperation in the oil industry during a meet...
The U.S. military announced that it has completed a new wave of strikes against Iranian military targets under U.S. President Donald Trump's orders. The operation targeted command centres, air defence systems, missile and drone facilities, and coastal surveillance sites across multiple locations.
Peace. Prosperity. New political forces. A technology-driven economy. Following Armenia’s parliamentary election, AnewZ took to the streets of Yerevan to ask people how they imagine their country five years from now.
Officials from more than 20 oil-producing countries have agreed on a roadmap to strengthen international cooperation in the oil industry during a meeting in Azerbaijan. The plan aims to deepen collaboration across key areas, including markets, technology, investment and regulation.
As the 2026 Fifa World Cup tournament draws to a close, there’s much to anticipate and yet so much to look back at.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the reimposition of a U.S. naval blockade on all Iranian ports and warned that power plants and bridges could be targeted next week unless Tehran returns to negotiations.
The United States carried out a third consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran, targeting military capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz as Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of a blockade on Iranian shipping and proposed a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strategic waterway.
The death toll from the fire at a live music pub in Bangkok has climbed to 32 after two more victims died from their injuries, according to Thailand's Police Hospital.
Ukraine and Russia exchanged fresh attacks on Tuesday, with Kyiv targeting shipping and energy infrastructure inside Russia while Moscow launched another large-scale missile and drone assault on Ukrainian cities.
The U.S. military announced that it has completed a new wave of strikes against Iranian military targets under U.S. President Donald Trump's orders. The operation targeted command centres, air defence systems, missile and drone facilities, and coastal surveillance sites across multiple locations.
At least 11 people have been killed and 19 injured in a fire at an orphanage on the outskirts of the Algerian capital, state media reported. The blaze broke out early on Thursday at the institution in the eastern suburbs of Algiers.
A woman whose husband was sucked out of the window of a plane during a Ryanair flight has recounted pulling her husband to safety. Serbian couple Svetlana Maksimovic and Ljubisa Karovic had just settled into a flight with the airline last week, when a loud bang pierced the hum of engines.
Russia launched a fresh wave of missile strikes on Ukraine early on Thursday, saying it had hit military and industrial facilities in Kyiv, as well as key port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region.
Uganda is expected to discharge its final Ebola patient on Thursday, beginning the 42-day countdown required before the country can be declared free of the virus if no new cases emerge, according to a government spokesperson.
The U.S. Coast Guard has called off its search for three people missing after a pontoon boat capsized near Alcatraz, leaving four people dead or presumed dead.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment