Somalia’s humanitarian crisis worsening with 6.5 million people facing high levels of hunger, Federal Government and United Nations warn

Nearly 6.5 million Somalis face high levels of hunger, and more than 1.8 million children face acute malnutrition due to worsening drought, the Somali government and UN agencies have warned in a new report.

The Integrated Security Phase Classification (IPC) report indicates that a third of the population – 6.5 million people – are expected to face crisis levels of hunger or worse (IPC 3 and 4) by March, an increase of 1.7 million people since January.

This includes two million individuals experiencing severe hunger (IPC 4). More than 1.8 million children under five will also face acute malnutrition in 2026, almost half a million of them likely to be severely malnourished. The drought is also having a devastating effect on agriculture, with widespread crop and livestock losses in addition to large scale displacements of people.