Somalia hunger crisis deepens as malnutrition rises in Baidoa
Severe drought is driving families towards Baidoa as child malnutrition rises, water access tightens and aid agencies warn that millions face acute hunger.
Drought-driven displacement and severe malnutrition are increasing pressure on water, food, health and protection services around Baidoa.
Latest updatesSevere malnutrition is rising as families lose crops, livestock and water
Somalia's prolonged drought and hunger emergency is continuing to push families towards Baidoa in search of food, water and treatment. New programme data from a stabilisation centre in the city show a sharp rise in children arriving with severe acute malnutrition and medical complications.
The centre treated 400 children with severe acute malnutrition and complications in June, compared with 143 in January. Across the first six months of 2026, it treated 1,405 children, a 177% increase from 507 during the same period a year earlier.
The figures describe one treatment centre, not all cases in Baidoa. They nevertheless show how poor rainfall, failed harvests, livestock losses, high prices and reduced humanitarian support are combining in Bay Region.
The latest national IPC projection available for April to June estimated that six million people faced Crisis-level hunger or worse, including 1.9 million in Emergency conditions. Nearly 1.88 million children were expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition during 2026.
Those national figures cover a defined projection period and should not be read as a live August count. Updated analysis will be needed to establish how conditions changed after June.
Displacement is concentrating urgent needs around Baidoa
Families arriving after repeated crop failure and livestock losses often have few remaining assets. Crowded settlements place additional pressure on scarce water, sanitation, nutrition and health services.
Food and nutrition
Emergency food assistance, screening, therapeutic foods, medical treatment and continued follow-up are critical. Stock-outs or facility closures can leave severely malnourished children without timely care.
Water and sanitation
Reliable safe water, household containers, latrines and hygiene support are essential where families depend on costly trucked water or crowded communal points.
Health and disease
Malnutrition weakens resistance to disease. Measles, cholera, acute watery diarrhoea and other infections can become more dangerous when treatment, vaccination and surveillance are disrupted.
Protection and livelihoods
Displacement can expose women, children, older people and people with disabilities to heightened risks. Families also need ways to recover income, farming tools, livestock and other livelihood assets.
How the drought and hunger emergency has developed
Baidoa treatment data show a steep rise
A stabilisation centre reports treating 400 children with severe acute malnutrition and complications in June, nearly three times the January total. Its January–June caseload is 177% higher than during the same months of 2025.
Somalia's disaster agency delivers food assistance
The Somali Disaster Management Agency reports distributing food assistance to vulnerable drought-affected families in Baidoa as part of the continuing national response.
Health, water and protection services receive renewed support
Save the Children and Somali partners announce extended support for health, nutrition, water, sanitation, protection and education services across seven drought-affected districts, including Baidoa.
IPC update identifies rapidly worsening hunger
Somalia's government and UN agencies warn that the April–June projection places six million people in Crisis-level hunger or worse, while Burhakaba district in Bay Region faces a risk of famine under a plausible worst-case scenario.
Federal Government declares a drought emergency
The declaration follows failed rains, water shortages and growing concern about food security, livelihoods and displacement.
Updated food-security evidence and continuity of care will be decisive
The next assessment must show whether hunger and malnutrition eased, stabilised or worsened after June. In the meantime, programme data and continuing displacement indicate that urgent needs remain.
New IPC analysis
Updated food-security and nutrition classifications will be important for understanding present conditions beyond the April–June projection period.
Nutrition supplies and staffing
Watch whether treatment centres can maintain therapeutic food, medicines, trained staff and referral capacity as caseloads rise.
Displacement and water access
New arrivals, water prices and pressure on settlement services will show whether rural households are continuing to exhaust their coping options.
Later-season flood risk
Forecast El Niño conditions could bring heavier rain later in 2026, creating a risk of flooding, contaminated water sources and repeated displacement.
Information used in this report
Somali Disaster Management Agency; Integrated Food Security Phase Classification; FAO, OCHA, UNICEF and WFP; Save the Children; Plan International; and Médecins Sans Frontières.