Overview
- UNICEF chief Catherine Russell, after visiting Dollow, said the Iran war has become a shock to the aid pipeline into Somalia by driving up fuel prices and slowing deliveries.
- UNICEF reports $15.7 million in nutrition, vaccines and bed nets now in transit at risk of delay or extra cost as rerouted shipping and Somalia’s reliance on imports push up water and transport prices.
- The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification estimates 1.84 million Somali children under five could face acute malnutrition in 2026, and the government warns nearly 6.5 million people face severe hunger.
- UNICEF has appealed for $121 million for 2026 but says it has received under $20 million, while aid groups report more than 400 health and nutrition sites shut over the past year due to funding cuts.
- Health staff in Dollow say treatment supplies may last only until mid to late April and warn that without new stock more children will deteriorate and could die.