Admissions of children with severe acute malnutrition and complications in Somalia rose by 32 percent in the first six months of 2026, UNICEF said, after more than 200 health and nutrition facilities were forced to close following cuts to international aid.
Nearly 1.9 million children are projected to be malnourished in Somalia this year, while one-third of the country’s 19 million people face severe food shortages.
Drought and funding cuts are converging
Somalia is facing a severe drought that has killed livestock, ruined harvests and destroyed livelihoods. UNICEF said aid cuts are also reducing access to healthcare, nutrition services, water, education and protection.
Funding for acute-malnutrition programmes in parts of Somalia has fallen by more than 80 percent this year, according to Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF. The cuts followed reductions by the United States and several other Western countries.
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More closures remain possible
UNICEF spokesman James Elder told reporters in Geneva, speaking by video from Nairobi, that as many as 618 health facilities could close nationwide under “severe funding scenarios”. He said nearly one million children under five, adolescent girls and women risk losing access to nutrition services.
Somalia was excluded from a $2bn global humanitarian aid pledge announced by the United States for this year because of allegations of aid diversion and corruption.
Displacement and rising prices add pressure
Aid groups estimate that drought displaced about 500,000 people between January and April, adding to roughly 3.3 million Somalis already uprooted. UNICEF said access to water has been curtailed while prices in rural and pastoral areas have quadrupled.
More context: Understanding the Food Crisis in Uganda’s Karamoja Region.
Elder said fuel and fertiliser costs have risen because of the US-Israel war on Iran, and that a forecast record-strength El Niño climate pattern could worsen the crisis through severe flooding.
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