Somalia is confronting another potentially devastating hunger crisis with a fraction of the international funding available during its last near-famine emergency, as drought, conflict and sweeping foreign aid cuts leave millions struggling to find enough food.
Funding for programmes treating acute malnutrition in parts of the East African country has fallen by more than 80% this year, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Tuesday, even as the number of severely malnourished children arriving at treatment centres rises sharply.
The United States, previously one of the biggest funders of the response, has provided no money for the programme this year after contributing about $70 million in 2025, Reuters reported, citing MSF. Other Western donors have also reduced support.
The funding collapse comes at an especially dangerous moment for Somalia.
Around 6.5 million people were projected to face crisis levels of hunger or worse this year, while more than 1.8 million children under five are expected to suffer acute malnutrition. Almost half a million could become severely malnourished, according to an assessment released by Somalia’s government and United Nations agencies in February.
