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WFP Warns of Somalia Hunger Emergency as Funding and Supplies Dry Up

Donors must close a $131 million gap to keep life-saving aid running.

An internally displaced Somali child is screened for malnutrition at the Daynile hospital as shortages of lifesaving therapeutic foods caused by shipping disruptions due to the Iran war have forced clinics treating severely malnourished children to turn away patients and ration supplies in drought-hit Somalia, in Daynile district of Mogadishu, Somalia April 20, 2026. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

Overview

  • WFP warned it could halt support in Somalia by July without fresh financing and said it needs $131 million to sustain core help through October 2026.
  • WFP, which runs most food aid in Somalia, now reaches only one in ten people after cutting its caseload from about 2 million to 500,000.
  • About 6.5 million people face crisis hunger, including 2 million at emergency levels and up to 1.9 million malnourished children, driven by years of drought and conflict.
  • Emergency food has been suspended in several districts, and nutrition help for pregnant and breastfeeding women has been reduced as programs shrink.
  • War in the Middle East has slowed shipments of ready-to-use therapeutic food by up to 40 days and pushed up local prices for food and fuel.