WFP Geneva Palais Briefing on Somalia: WFP warns of catastrophic shortfalls in Somalia with millions at risk of deepening hunger crisis

Somalia is in the midst of a very complex hunger crisis. Two rainy seasons have failed. Conflict and insecurity persist. Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in search of shelter, food, and basic services. All of these have pushed the Somalia humanitarian response to the brink.

Making matters worse is that due to a severe lack of resources, WFP's life-saving emergency food and nutrition assistance in Somalia will come to an end in a few weeks unless new and urgent funding is received.

I am here today to issue an alert: the world must pay attention to the millions of vulnerable women, men, and children suffering in Somalia. And sadly, we've been down this road before.

In November, the Somalia Government declared a national drought emergency - triggered by severe water shortages, crop and livestock losses, and large-scale displacement. We saw very similar conditions in Somalia in 2022 when famine was narrowly averted thanks to large-scale international support.

Today, most of the food security data points are flashing red. Our early warning systems, which we manage alongside partners and counterparts, indicate that we're on the same path as previous food crises in Somalia.

Today, we're seeing:

• A quarter of the population - 4.4 million people - face crisis-levels of food insecurity or worse (IPC3+).
• This includes nearly one million women, men, and children experiencing severe hunger.
• Nearly two million children are suffering from acute malnutrition, including over 400,000 with severe acute malnutrition.
• Nearly half a million people have also been displaced in the past five months

A detailed IPC food security and nutrition analysis report is expected to be published next week, and I expect we'll see a deterioration of the situation.

WFP is a lifeline for millions of people and remains the largest humanitarian operator in Somalia. But right now, we are only able to reach one in seven people in need.

The lack of resources has meant that we've been forced to repeatedly reduce the vital assistance we are able to provide. We had no choice but to reduce our food and nutrition assistance by more than half in 2025 due to funding shortfalls. Today:

• We're currently assisting only 640,000 out of the 4.4 million people facing crisis levels of hunger. This is down from the 2.2 million people WFP supported with emergency food assistance this time last year.
• Lifesaving nutrition services have also been slashed by more than half - from almost 400,000 pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and children under five in October to just over 100,000 children in January.
• Cash transfers have been significantly reduced due to insufficient resources. Cash transfers are the only option for assistance in areas where access is limited but where markets are functioning.
• Across Somalia, our reach has decreased from 64 districts to 42, leaving entire areas without food assistance.

To finish, scaling up WFP's response is critical to meet urgent food and nutrition needs for millions of Somalis, prevent famine, and build resilience for communities to withstand food security shocks and instability in the face of growing insecurity and extreme weather events.

When drought conditions began, WFP provided emergency cash-based transfers through government-led systems to more than 380,000 people to buy food on local markets, addressing urgent needs and reinforcing national social protection capacity.

WFP has the teams on the ground and capacity to push back extreme hunger again.

We are at the precipice of another decisive moment; without urgent action, we may be unable to reach the most vulnerable in time, most of them women and children.

WFP and partners are ready to deliver, but we need urgent support to avoid a preventable catastrophe.

Notes to editors:

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

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