More than 6.5 million Somalis are facing severe hunger as climate shocks, conflict, and aid cuts compound a humanitarian crisis. The situation has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, with Mogadishu's informal settlements swelling as displaced families seek refuge.
Zeynab Ibrahim, a 38-year-old single mother, lost four of her ten children to hunger and disease after three years of drought destroyed her village near Burhakaba. 'We tried every means to survive – selling dried grass and digging up water from the barren earth. Unfortunately, there was nothing left, so we had no choice but to escape to save our children,' she said from a camp in Kahda district.
Adan Roble, 77, has been displaced multiple times by drought, floods, and fighting. Last month, torrential rains caused flash floods that swept through his village near Janale in Lower Shabelle, while military drones flew overhead as government forces battled al-Shabaab. 'Imagine losing everything and trying to survive without food and clean water, while fighting continues around you and drones keep flying overhead,' he said.
Nearly 1.9 million children under five are acutely malnourished, according to the latest IPC report. With 500 nutrition clinics closed due to funding shortages, overwhelmed stabilisation centres are struggling to cope. In Kismayo, more than 700 severely malnourished children were admitted in three months, with ten dying.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, visiting a camp in Baidoa, condemned the lack of global response. 'On top of conflict and displacement, you have got the flash floods and the drought getting worse, and that should make us furious about the lack of humanity being shown at this moment,' he said.
