Toronto, September 24, 2025 – Nearly half of children aged under five in Somalia could face acute malnutrition by July 2026 due to a convergence of crises, leaving aid agencies struggling to cope as funding cuts reduce health and nutrition services, Save the Children said.
Flash flooding, below-average rainfall, high food prices, and ongoing conflict have combined to drive hunger levels up 30% across Somalia, with the south worst hit, according to new figures from global hunger monitor, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) .
The figures reveal that 4.4 million people, or just under a quarter of the population, are now expected to experience high levels of acute food insecurity by the end of 2025.
This includes over 921,000 people facing emergency levels of food insecurity or Phase 4, the second highest IPC level when urgent action is needed to save lives and livelihoods.
The new data showed the number of children estimated to be suffering acute malnutrition could rise to 1.85 million children by July 2026, an increase of 9% from previous forecasts [1].
Save the Children said this severe deterioration in malnutrition is compounded global aid cuts reducing access to health and nutrition services, with insufficient vaccination coverage leading to an increase in diseases such as a current diphtheria outbreak.
The closure of nutrition centres and health facilities—over a quarter of those supported by Save the Children—has left over 55,000 children without access to life-saving nutrition services since June.
Binyam Gebru, Save the Children’s Acting Country Director for Somalia, said:
“Somalia is embroiled in a protracted crisis, which is slowly grinding down the resilience of families and the wellbeing of children. Hunger – already at dire levels across Somalia – is on the rise, as climate shocks continue to wreak havoc, but it’s even worse this year because now we are facing massive funding cuts which are already having severe impacts on children.
“We are already seeing more children arriving at our clinics in critical condition, and with fewer facilities open, many will have nowhere to turn. Not providing the funds that can help prevent extreme hunger is a political choice and one that needs to be reversed before it is too late for millions of children in Somalia.”
Save the Children is calling on the international community and donors to urgently mobilize resources to restore and expand nutrition, health, and water services. Without immediate action, the lives of hundreds of thousands of Somali children hang in the balance.
Save the Children has been working in Somalia since 1951, delivering life-saving health, nutrition, education, and protection services. In 2024, Save the Children reached 3.2 million people, including 1.9 million children across 17 regions in the country.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
[1]According to the latest IPC report, 1.85 million children are estimated to be suffer acute malnutrition by July 2026, an increase of 9% from previous (1.7 million) forecasts
This rise is attributed to reduced humanitarian funding, ongoing conflict, and climate-related shocks, which have worsened access to nutrition, health, and WASH services. https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1159551/
For Somalia, the total number of children under five years is 3,856,170
Therefore 1.85 million children estimated to suffer from acute malnutrition is 48% or nearly half of all children under five.
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