The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is warning that several areas of Somalia are at risk of drought due to prolonged extreme dry conditions, with hundreds of thousands of families likely to be hit. Already, 4.4 million people in the East African country are facing hunger - and conditions are expected to worsen as the April to June rainy season is forecast to start late and receive below-normal rainfall.
In its latest situation report, released Monday, OCHA said water sources are drying up and pastoralists are abandoning their homes in search of water and pasture. In areas where people rely on commercial water supplies, prices have risen to unaffordable levels for many families.
The unfolding situation follows the poor rains of the October-December 2024 Deyr, which led to drought conditions in southern and central regions, and the current hot and dry conditions. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) predicts that the April-June Gu seasonal rains will be below normal in most parts of Somalia, while above-average temperatures will increase.
OCHA said immediate humanitarian assistance and long-term resilience interventions are urgently needed as drought conditions progressively got worse in January 2025. The immediate humanitarian needs include food security, malnutrition and displacement.
The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis shows that 4.4 million people in Somalia are experiencing crisis levels of hunger (IPC3 or worse), with nearly 1 million people estimated to be in emergency levels (IPC 4). Approximately 1.6 million children under the age of five are at risk of acute malnutrition, with 403,000 at risk of severe acute malnutrition (SAM).
Somalia is facing a protracted humanitarian crisis fueled by conflict, poverty, widespread displacement, climate shocks, disease outbreaks and lack of access to basic services. In 2025, an estimated one-third of the population - about 6 million people - are expected to require humanitarian assistance, while 9.1 million Somalis out of a population of 19.3 million are affected by the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Protracted conflict, escalating clan violence and recurrent climatic shocks have led to widespread displacement. As of February 2025, an estimated 4.4 million Somalis remain displaced. While about 3.5 million people are internally displaced within Somalia, more than 900,000 Somalis have sought refuge in neighboring countries due to climatic shocks and armed conflict.
Women and children account for more than 80 percent of the displaced. More than 500,000 people were newly internally displaced in 2024. Last year, conflict was the main driver of new internal displacement, as inter-clan fighting surged in several regions. Most people forced to flee their homes remained within the same region.
However, resources for the humanitarian response remain limited.
The current year's US$1.42 billion humanitarian appeal for Somalia, which aims to provide critical assistance to nearly 4.6 million of the most vulnerable people, is only 12 percent funded, with less than US$177 million received to date. Women, girls and marginalized communities are particularly at risk.
In 2024, humanitarian agencies in Somalia received just 48 percent of the funding requested. Despite significant access challenges and funding shortfalls, humanitarian organizations were able to reach 3.5 million people in Somalia with at least one form of assistance last year.
Over the past year, the humanitarian situation in Somalia showed some improvement from previous years, which were marked by widespread displacement, devastating droughts, and severe flooding. Somalis are still recovering from the effects of the historic drought of 2020-2023 and the devastating floods of late 2023 and mid-2024.
The record drought reached unprecedented levels in 2022 and came to an end in the second quarter of 2023.
Further information
Full text: Somalia Monthly Humanitarian Update, January 2025, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, report, published February 10, 2025
https://reliefweb.int/attachments/612984be-b696-4ea5-aabe-8dec765f9527/Monthly%20Humanitarian%20Update%2C%20January%202025...pdf