Somalia is experiencing what experts describe as potentially the worst drought in the country's history, with 6.5 million people facing crisis levels of hunger according to government and United Nations estimates. The drought, which has persisted for three years in some regions, represents a 25% increase in food insecurity since January and affects roughly one-third of the country's population.

The crisis has devastated agricultural production and livestock, with staple crop yields during the October-December rainy season reaching their lowest levels on record. Pastoralists like 70-year-old Abdi Ahmed Farah have lost most of their livestock, with Farah's herd shrinking from 680 goats to just 110. Rivers have dried up, crops have withered, and many families have been reduced to one meal per day.

Humanitarian agencies warn that nearly 500,000 children may face severe acute malnutrition, potentially exceeding the numbers requiring treatment during previous droughts in 2011 and 2022. The drought has displaced an additional 200,000 people this year, adding to the millions already displaced by decades of conflict in the Horn of Africa nation.

The humanitarian response has been significantly constrained by reduced international funding. Aid funding to Somalia dropped to $531 million in 2025, down from $2.38 billion in 2022, largely due to cuts by the United States, previously Somalia's largest donor. The World Food Programme intended to assist 2 million people with food aid this year but has reached only 300,000 due to funding shortages.

The crisis is compounded by rising food and fuel prices linked to regional conflicts, as Somalia imports 70% of its food and most of its fuel from the Middle East. Medical facilities treating malnourished children report shortages of therapeutic supplies, forcing healthcare workers to use alternatives like cow's milk when specialized therapeutic milk is unavailable.

Humanitarian officials emphasize the urgency of the situation, with some areas already reporting deaths from malnutrition. The International Committee of the Red Cross noted that the current response is five times smaller than what was mobilized for a similar drought in 2022, when an estimated 36,000 people died.