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STORY: WFP / SOMALIA DROUGHT HUNGER
TRT: 03:06
SOURCE: WFP
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WFP ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: SOMALI / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 07 MAY 2026, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
02 MAY 2026, DANGORAYO, PUNTLAND, SOMALIA
1. Wide shot, drone footage of Puntland, a region impacted by severe drought
04 MAY 2026, DANGORAYO, PUNTLAND, SOMALIA
2. Various shots, drought impact on livestock;
02 MAY 2026, DANGORAYO, PUNTLAND, SOMALIA
3. Various shots, camp for displaced people
05 MAY 2026, DANGORAYO, PUNTLAND, SOMALIA
4. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Mahad Farah Muse, displaced community member:
“Even when a little rain fell before, it did not last. That small amount is now gone, and if rain does not come soon, people may start dying just like the livestock. People depended on livestock, and now the livestock are gone. Everything has been lost.”
02 MAY 2026, DANGORAYO, PUNTLAND, SOMALIA
5. Various shots, Mahad Farah Muse at her shelter in Puntland
07 MAY 2026, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Matthew Hollingworth, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations:
“These are families who have been displaced because of the drought that is wracking the entire country. Three failed rainy seasons mean that these folks have had to leave their home behind because their livelihoods have gone. Their cattle, or their goats, their sheep cannot find pastureland.”
05 MAY 2026, PUNTLAND, SOMALIA
7. Various shots, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations at a nutrition site in Puntland
07 MAY 2026, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Matthew Hollingworth, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations:
“What we’re seeing across the entire country is a malnutrition crisis and we simply don’t have the resources to respond as we should do. This is made absolutely worse by the Middle East crisis which is raising prices across the whole country; fuel by 150 percent, even food commodities by at least 20 or30 percent.”
30 APRIL 2026, BERBERA PORT, SOMALILAND, SOMALIA
9. Various shots, Berbera Port supply chain operations, receiving 5,000 MTs of food assistance for Somalia and Ethiopia
07 MAY 2026, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
10. Various shots, airlift of nutrition commodities
There is a deepening hunger and malnutrition crisis unfolding in Somalia. The emergency is being driven by a dangerous combination of drought, reduced humanitarian assistance, and the ripple effects of conflict in the Middle East.
Somalia is facing one of the most complex hunger crises in recent years, driven by drought, insecurity, a sharp drop in humanitarian funding, and the ripple effects of the conflict in the Middle East. The onset of rain is bringing some immediate relief, but drought conditions remain widespread and are not expected to lead to major food security improvements.
Droughts have wiped out livestock in Garowe and Dangorayo. The drought has resulted in widespread livestock losses exacerbating the food insecurity situation. The livestock sector is a vital part of the livelihoods for many pastoralists, and their losses are a significant concern for hunger and nutrition in Somalia.
Nearly five million people have been impacted by drought in Somalia and thousands of families have already lost everything. Some 200,000 people have been displaced in the first quarter of 2026 – more than 60 percent of them due to drought.
SOUNDBITE (Somali) Mahad Farah Muse, displaced community member:
“Even when a little rain fell before, it did not last. That small amount is now gone, and if rain does not come soon, people may start dying just like the livestock. People depended on livestock, and now the livestock are gone. Everything has been lost.”
Food insecurity in Somalia is already at critical levels with 6.5 million people (33 percent of the population) facing crisis-levels of hunger or worse (IPC3+), including almost 2 million facing emergency-level hunger (IPC4). These numbers have doubled since early 2025.
SOUNDBITE (English) Matthew Hollingworth, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations:
“These are families who have been displaced because of the drought that is wracking the entire country. Three failed rainy seasons mean that these folks have had to leave their home behind because their livelihoods have gone. Their cattle, or their goats, their sheep cannot find pastureland.”
Along with deteriorating food security, Somalia is grappling with one of the worst malnutrition crises in the world. Nearly 2 million children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition, including 480,000 with severe acute malnutrition. 45 out of 48 areas are expected to face critical levels of malnutrition. Even if rainfall improves, malnutrition will worsen because of lack of services driven by funding shortfalls and soaring costs.
SOUNDBITE (English) Matthew Hollingworth, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations:
“What we’re seeing across the entire country is a malnutrition crisis and we simply don’t have the resources to respond as we should do. This is made absolutely worse by the Middle East crisis which is raising prices across the whole country; fuel by 150 percent, even food commodities by at least 20 or30 percent.”
The conflict in the Middle East has driven food prices in Somalia well above average, pushed fuel costs up by 150 percent, and disrupted humanitarian supply chains that threatened the continuity of life‑saving assistance for children. This particular delivery was delayed six weeks due to supply chain disruptions following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.
WFP is the logistical backbone of the humanitarian response in Somalia, providing 90 percent of food aid in the country. However, severe funding shortages for the Somalia operation mean WFP can assist only one in ten people in urgent need. Without immediate new funding, WFP’s emergency assistance will halt by July. An additional 131 million dollars is needed to continue WFP’s support to the most vulnerable people in Somalia through October 2026.
