• WFP warns its funds will run out within weeks without urgent support.
• 4.4 million people face acute hunger; only one in seven receives aid.
• $95 million needed to sustain operations through August 2026.

Somalia is approaching a critical humanitarian threshold, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned, as its funding is expected to run out in the coming weeks without rapid financial commitments.

The government has declared a national state of emergency following severe water shortages, crop failures, livestock losses and mass displacement, conditions reminiscent of 2022, when famine was narrowly avoided due to large-scale international mobilization.

According to WFP data, 4.4 million people, about one quarter of the population, are experiencing acute food insecurity or worse, including nearly 1 million facing severe hunger. The situation reflects a combination of structural and cumulative pressures. Prolonged armed conflict continues to disrupt local markets, drive displacement and restrict humanitarian access. Recurrent climate shocks, including cycles of drought and flooding and two consecutive failed rainy seasons, have sharply reduced agricultural and livestock production.

Humanitarian Aid in Free Fall

The sharp reduction in aid is the most immediate aggravating factor. Due to funding shortages, WFP has cut the number of emergency food assistance beneficiaries from 2.2 million in early 2025 to just over 600,000 today. Only one in seven people in need currently receives support.

Nutrition programmes have also been scaled back significantly. Assistance dropped from nearly 400,000 pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and young children in October 2025 to just 90,000 in December.

Without immediate funding, WFP expects to suspend its humanitarian operations entirely by April. To maintain activities between March and August 2026, the agency says it requires $95 million. It recalls that in 2022, its ability to rapidly scale up assistance helped contain famine at a critical threshold. Today, shrinking global humanitarian budgets are again limiting its response, even as needs increase.

The agency warns of major humanitarian, security and economic consequences that could extend beyond Somalia’s borders.

A Regional Warning Signal

Somalia is among the main “hunger hotspots” identified last year in a joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and WFP, alongside Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the U.N. agencies, rising food insecurity across these countries is driven primarily by persistent conflict, repeated economic shocks and climate disasters, compounded by restricted humanitarian access and critical funding gaps.

The outlook now depends on the speed of international mobilization. Immediate financial support could prevent an interruption in assistance. Conversely, a halt in operations in April could trigger a rapid rise in malnutrition, increased preventable diseases among children and deeper instability in an already fragile region.

Olivier de Souza