Mogadishu, Somalia — The United Nations reports that 6. 5 million people in Somalia are now experiencing extreme hunger after a prolonged drought has dried farmland and cut rural food stocks. Official communiqués placed the country under a food-security emergency classification, signalling that large segments of the population face critical shortages of staple grains, cooking oil, and livestock feed.
The alert covers all southern crop zones and key pastoral corridors in the centre and north. Local administrators confirmed that consecutive failed rainy seasons have reduced river levels used for irrigation and forced thousands of herders to trek longer distances in search of water and grazing land.
The resulting spike in animal deaths has simultaneously eroded household income and market supply, driving cereal prices to their highest point since mid — 2022, according to regional price bulletins.
Humanitarian coordinators in the capital said relief convoys have begun moving supplementary food to the worst — hit districts, although insecurity along main roads and limited warehouse space continue to slow distribution. They added that nutrition screening teams recorded rising cases of acute malnutrition among children under five during door-to-door visits last week.
Government spokespeople appealed for expanded external assistance, stressing that domestic grain reserves remain insufficient to cover three months of national consumption.
Independent observers echoed the assessment, citing disrupted imports from neighbouring countries that normally offset local shortfalls. What remains unclear is the precise amount of additional food aid pledged by bilateral donors, and when large-scale deliveries might reach remote villages before the next harvest expected in mid-year.
Further details are expected once the humanitarian response plan is updated next month.
