Somalia hunger crisis deepens as flood threat follows drought and conflict

DROUGHT / FOOD INSECURITY / FLOOD RISK

Date: 2026-08-27
Status: ONGOING · FLOOD PREPAREDNESS ACTIVE
Aid Zone: AFRICA
Countries: Somalia
Agency: Norwegian Refugee Council / IPC partners
Last verified: 2026-08-28T18:00:00+03:00

Situation

Somalia is confronting overlapping hunger, displacement and climate emergencies after consecutive failed rainy seasons, continuing conflict and sharp reductions in humanitarian assistance. The Norwegian Refugee Council reported on 27 August that 6 million people—around one in three Somalis—were facing Crisis-level hunger or worse. More than 700,000 people had been displaced during 2026, including over 500,000 displaced by drought. The national humanitarian response had received only 30 percent of the funding required, while NRC reported that 75 percent of protection services had closed over the previous year. The food crisis is especially dangerous for children: sector projections indicate around 1.88–1.9 million children under five could experience acute malnutrition during 2026, including almost 500,000 facing severe acute malnutrition. An MSF assessment in displacement sites around Baidoa found one in two assessed children acutely malnourished and one in four severely malnourished; these localized survey proportions should not be extrapolated nationally. Somalia is also preparing for the October Deyr rains, which forecasters expect could produce severe flooding under El Niño conditions. NRC compared the risk with the 2023 floods, which displaced 1.2 million people, killed 8,000 livestock and damaged 11,000 hectares of farmland. These historical flood-loss figures are included for preparedness context and are not current 2026 losses. Humanitarian agencies are calling for immediate food, nutrition, water, sanitation, shelter, protection, cash and flood-preparedness support.

Verified figures

People facing Crisis-level hunger or worse: 6 million · IPC/NRC, August 2026
Share of Somalia's population facing Crisis-level hunger or worse: Around 1 in 3
People displaced during 2026: >700,000
People displaced by drought during 2026: >500,000
Children projected to experience acute malnutrition: 1.88–1.9 million during 2026
Children projected to experience severe acute malnutrition: Almost 500,000
Humanitarian response funded: 30%
Humanitarian funding gap: 70%
Protection services closed during previous year: 75%
Acutely malnourished children in MSF Baidoa survey: 1 in 2 assessed children
Severely malnourished children in MSF Baidoa survey: 1 in 4 assessed children
People displaced by comparable 2023 floods: 1.2 million · historical preparedness benchmark
Livestock killed during comparable 2023 floods: 8,000 · historical benchmark
Farmland damaged during comparable 2023 floods: 11,000 hectares · historical benchmark

Provenance

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