UNICEF has warned that unprecedented cuts in humanitarian aid are deepening Somalia’s humanitarian crisis, with 205 health and nutrition facilities already closed and a 32% increase in children being admitted to stabilization centres with severe acute malnutrition and related complications.
According to UNICEF Spokesperson, James Elder, the funding reductions were coming at a critical moment for Somalia, where drought, conflict, displacement, rising fuel and fertiliser costs and the threat of severe flooding are placing additional pressure on vulnerable communities.
“In Somalia today, aid cuts are closing doors to healthcare, shutting down nutrition services, and pushing water, education and protection further out of reach. As ever, children are paying the price.”
UNICEF Spokesperson
The agency warned that the consequences of the cuts are becoming increasingly visible in the country’s health and nutrition systems, where fewer facilities are available to identify vulnerable children and provide treatment before their conditions become life-threatening.
During the first six months of the year, admissions of children to stabilization centres with severe acute malnutrition and complications rose by 32% compared with the same period last year.
UNICEF stressed that the increase does not necessarily mean more children are becoming sick. Rather, it reflects the loss of preventive and community-based services that previously enabled health workers to identify and treat vulnerable children at an earlier stage.
“Fewer facilities mean longer journeys for mums and their babies; longer journeys mean later treatment; later treatment means more severe illness and a greater risk of preventable death.”
UNICEF Spokesperson
The warning comes as Somalia faces a convergence of humanitarian pressures that could further undermine the wellbeing of children and families already struggling to cope.
Nearly 1.9 million children are projected to be affected by malnutrition in Somalia this year, including almost half a million expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition, the deadliest form of the condition.
At the same time, UNICEF estimates that nearly one million children under five, adolescent girls and women are at risk of losing access to nutrition services.
The agency indicated that funding cuts have already contributed to a 30% reduction in health and nutrition service coverage. Under severe funding scenarios, as many as 618 health facilities could close nationwide.
“This is the wrong moment to retreat,” UNICEF warned, pointing to the combination of environmental, economic and security pressures confronting the country.
Somalia is experiencing severe drought in parts of the north, while conflict and displacement continue to disrupt communities and livelihoods. The rising cost of fuel and fertiliser has added further pressure on households already facing economic hardship.
The situation could worsen in the coming months, with forecasts of severe flooding linked to a record-strength El Niño expected to compound Somalia’s existing humanitarian needs.
The crisis is particularly severe for families dependent on livestock and agriculture. UNICEF highlighted the experience of Hajio, a mother who once had a home, sent her children to school and owned cattle before drought and worsening climate conditions killed her entire herd.
After losing her livelihood, she was forced to flee in search of assistance and now lives in a makeshift shelter made from plastic and sticks in Burhakaba, southwest Somalia.
She received clothes and tomatoes from a nearby community but no assistance from the international humanitarian system.
Her experience, UNICEF said, illustrates how climate shocks can rapidly push families from relative stability into extreme vulnerability.
The funding crisis is also affecting the ability of humanitarian organisations to reach communities in need. The budget for the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service, which provides critical air connectivity for humanitarian operations and UNICEF’s life-saving cargo, was cut by 40% between 2025 and 2026.
Yet UNICEF added that there is clear evidence that humanitarian programmes can save lives when adequately funded.
Between 2021 and 2025, the agency supported more than 2.25 million admissions of children with severe acute malnutrition. In 2025, the programme recorded a cure rate of 97.6%.
According to UNICEF, “We have the programmes. We have the partners. What is missing is the funding.”
Water, Education and Child Protection Services Also Under Threat
The impact of Somalia’s aid cuts extends beyond healthcare and nutrition, with water, education and child protection programmes also facing serious funding shortages.
More than 1.6 million people need access to safe water, while more than 800,000 are at risk of losing essential hygiene supplies as drought continues to place pressure on communities.
The cost of obtaining water has also risen sharply in rural and pastoral areas. A 200-litre barrel that previously cost around US$2 now costs approximately US$8, a fourfold increase that threatens to make basic water access increasingly unaffordable for poor households.
UNICEF has reached more than one million people through emergency and sustainable water services, but warned that those gains could be reversed without sustained funding.
Education is similarly vulnerable. The sector lost US$30 million in funding in 2025, while major donors are expected to reduce contributions by more than half in 2026. More than 78,000 students have already dropped out of school, with another 660,000 girls and boys at risk.
According to UNICEF education provides children with more than academic opportunities, protecting them from exploitation, early marriage and child labour while helping communities create pathways out of poverty.
Furthermore, child protective services are weakened. Somalia has one of the highest rates of reported child abuse, but at least 65 child protection services and facilities have already closed due to funding cuts.
Case management, psychological support, family tracing, and reintegration are all under threat.
UNICEF warned that the consequences of weakening Somalia’s humanitarian systems could extend beyond the country, particularly as climate shocks, displacement and conflict increasingly cross national borders.
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