Somalia

The Situation

While famine has been kept at bay for now, the situation in Somalia remains critical. Mortality rates have been elevated for months and emergency levels of hunger are forecast to continue in many regions. WFP has dramatically expanded its food and nutrition support to assist more people in Somalia than ever before. 

After a gradual recovery from the famine of 2011, Somalia’s food security is once again under threat. The longest drought in 40 years and ongoing conflict have driven millions of Somalis into severe levels of hunger.

Hunger Crisis in Somalia

Over 6 million Somalis are expected to face extreme levels of hunger by March 2023. Among the most affected include urban and poor people in Bay, Bakool, Gedo, Middle and Lower Shabelle as well as internally displaced populations (IDPs). 1.8 million children are malnourished.

Somalia is on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Drought, flooding and tropical storms are recurrent and severe. The country’s hunger crisis is primarily due to a devastating drought. Four consecutive rainy seasons, which should occur twice per year, have failed. Over 1 million Somalis have been driven from their homes by the drought, including over 925,000 this year alone. These internally displaced people are among those at highest risk of malnutrition and hunger.

WFP's Work

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has played a major role in the significant scale-up of humanitarian assistance in Somalia. Over the last six months, the U.N. World Food Programme has expanded its lifesaving assistance to reach a record number of people in Somalia – including those in hard-to-reach areas. It is essential that the U.N. World Food Programme is able to sustain and increase this scale-up.  

In Somalia, the U.N. World Food Programme saves and changes lives through a broad range of programs.

• Emergency relief: The U.N. World Food Programme saves lives by providing general food assistance to those affected by crisis, mainly with cash to buy the food they need.
• Nutrition: The U.N. World Food Programme provides emergency malnutrition treatment to pregnant and nursing women and children under the age of 5. For Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS patients and their families, the U.N. World Food Programme provides monthly food baskets to enhance their nutritional intake and the efficiency of medication.
• Food systems: On multiple levels, the U.N. World Food Programme works to strengthen Somalia’s food systems including training small-scale farmers to reduce their post-harvest losses.
• School meals: The U.N. World Food Programme has secured funding to support 90,000 children to the end of the current school year (2022 – 2023) with homegrown school meals. This program improves enrollment and retention rates while providing a safety net for children’s’ families.
• UNHAS: On behalf of the humanitarian community, the U.N. World Food Programme manages the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) which provides critical and safe air services. UNHAS delivers lifesaving assistance, moves aid workers to and within Somalia and can airlift essential cargo like medical supplies to areas inaccessible by road.