The cycles of drought, displacement, and hunger in Somalia are by now tragically familiar, and their outlines well documented in countless reports. The country continues to face one of the world’s most complex and persistent nutrition emergencies, driven by a combination of climate shocks, conflict, displacement, and chronic poverty. This article, however, is not a retelling of these crises. It is a warning about the next, more devastating chapter: the dire consequences that loom as a protracted humanitarian emergency is compounded by severe funding cuts and a failure to build sustainable health and nutrition systems.
The recent statistics paint a stark picture. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis for July to December 2025, an estimated 3.4 million people are projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity between July and September 2025. This includes around 624,000 people (3% of the population) experiencing Emergency (IPC Phase 4) levels of hunger, and 2.8 million people (15%) in Crisis (IPC Phase 3). The situation is equally alarming for children. The IPC projects that about 1.85 million children aged 6–59 months will likely suffer from acute malnutrition between July 2025 and June 2026, including 421,000 children expected to become severely malnourished.
The limits of emergency feeding
For decades, emergency feeding programs have been a lifeline for millions of Somalis during drought, conflict, and displacement, providing immediate relief and saving countless lives. However, these interventions are not designed to build resilience or address the root cause of hunger. As a result, once the food distributions end, vulnerable communities find themselves unsure of what to do next and often fall back into a cycle of crisis and aid dependency. This approach can unintentionally weaken local food systems by sidelining markets, farmers, and community led solutions. Moreover, humanitarian funding is becoming increasingly unpredictable, with donor fatigue setting in after decades of recurrent emergencies. The U.S. aid suspension has created an immediate humanitarian crisis in Somalia, disrupting essential services and halting new project obligations within days of the January 2025 Executive Order. Other international donors have also scaled back funding.
WFP is arguably Somalia’s biggest emergency food distributor, announced it will slash the number of people it supports with emergency food aid in Somalia by two-thirds down from 1.1 million in August 2025 to 350,000 in November 2025 because of a funding shortfall. (another reference). Somalia faces a funding loss of USD 183.36 million, affecting food security, health and nutrition, education, WASH, protection, and research programs nationwide. As global priorities shift and budgets tighten, Somalia faces a critical juncture: without a transition from emergency relief to sustainable nutrition systems, every drought risks becoming another humanitarian catastrophe. This raises a fundamental challenge for Somalia: how can the country utilize the limited funds it has while also mobilizing new sources to ensure its population is protected from hunger?
Building resilience through strategic programs and community support
Achieving this transition will require both strategic planning and practical action on multiple fronts. On the ground, programs must prioritize the most vulnerable populations, children under five, pregnant and lactating women, and displaced households while also strengthening local farmers, markets, and supply chains to reduce dependence on imported aid. At the national level, Somalia’s government needs to enhance data systems, improve resource allocation, and coordinate effectively with international donors to ensure that limited funds are used efficiently and transparently. Finally, expanding financial support through new partnerships, domestic revenue initiatives, and innovative development financing can provide the additional resources necessary to sustain long-term nutrition and health programs. Only by combining these approaches can Somalia hope to break the cycle of crisis and build a resilient system that protects its population from recurring famine and malnutrition.
In addition to international and government-led programs, Somalia has a long tradition of community based support through Zakat, the obligatory Islamic charitable giving. This system serves as a trusted local safety net, providing food, cash, or other assistance to the most vulnerable, particularly during times of drought and famine. Leveraging Zakat collections, both from within Somalia and from the Somali diaspora, can complement formal social protection and nutrition programs, mobilizing domestic resources while fostering community ownership and resilience. Encouraging transparent and accountable collection and distribution of Zakat through local community organizations or mosques offers a practical pathway to strengthen local capacity, reduce dependence on external donors, and sustain nutrition support even when international funding declines.
Conclusion
Somalia’s situation is often described in numbers and forecasts, but beneath the statistics is a simple truth: no country can survive on emergency feeding forever. The current funding cuts have exposed just how fragile the system is when it relies almost entirely on outside help. What will determine Somalia’s future is not just whether donors return, but whether the country can strengthen what already exists ; local health services, community networks, farmers, and the longstanding culture of giving that keeps families afloat when everything else fails. Zakat, whether collected in neighbourhood mosques or sent from relatives abroad, already fills gaps that formal systems cannot. If these efforts are supported and made more consistent, they can form part of a broader shift toward a nutrition system that does not collapse every time the rain fails. Somalia has been pushed to a breaking point before but building something steadier and more rooted in local strengths is still possible. The question is whether this moment of crisis becomes another chapter in the same story, or the point where the country begins to rewrite it.
About this piece
Reported and edited by the SHM editorial desk. Every SHM article passes editorial review and source verification before publication.