05/08/2026
SHARDI is deeply concerned for the lives of millions of Somalis facing hunger and need urgent humanitarian assistance. We call upon institutional donors, corporate partners, foundations, and philanthropic donors to urgently increase their contribution to the current humanitarian appeal to respond to the hunger crisis in Somalia.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) analysis, six million people in Somalia —31 percent of the population—are facing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above), including 1.9 million people in Emergency levels of hunger (IPC Phase 4). About 1.88 million children are suffering from acute malnutrition and require immediate treatment. In some parts of Somalia, particularly Burhakaba District, acute malnutrition has reached IPC Acute Malnutrition Phase 5 (Extremely Critical), signaling a critical deterioration and heightened risk of famine without urgent action.
Although recent rainfall has brought a sense of hope to some parts of the country, it has not yet led to meaningful improvement for drought-affected communities who have already lost everything.
Every day, humanitarians see and meet women, children and elderly people affected by the drought. These people are starved by years of conflict, poverty and by the impacts of climate change to which they have never contributed.
Too often, women, girls and children bear the brunt of climate change and unpredictable weather patterns. They face heightened risks to their health, protection and well-being, including gender-based violence (GBV) as access to essential health, protection services and livelihoods continue to shrink. These risks are compounded by drought, multiple displacements, overcrowded camps, and shrinking humanitarian funding.
In Baidoa, Fatumo, a 40-year-old-mother who has been displaced five times – three times by conflict and twice by drought, describes the challenges facing many families in Somalia today. “This is the fifth time I have fled,” she says. “I am still facing the drought, and I have nothing to feed my family.”
It is human actions that are driving famine and hunger, and it is our actions that can stop the loss of lives. We call on the international community to act now.
We, the NGOs, are overstretched. The widening gap between the increased humanitarian needs in Somalia and reduced funding is threatening to steal what hope remains on the faces of children, women and the elderly in Somalia. We cannot allow all hope to be lost. We need the world to act fast!
Every day, we share stories and evidence of hunger, starvation, and increasing humanitarian needs facing people in Somalia. Yet this does not prompt urgent action or sufficient funding.
Nuuriyo, a 70-year-old grandmother said, “I walked four days to arrive at the camps in Baidoa with my four grandchildren. The few cows I had died due to drought, and I have nothing left now, endangering my own life and the lives of my grandchildren. Our only source of livelihood has been wiped out by the drought.”
We, the NGOs, stand ready to save lives but insufficient funding places us at crossroads. The warning signs of the 2022 drought and the current look are remarkably similar; failed rains, collapsed livelihoods, rising hunger, and mass displacement. We collectively averted famine in 2022 because the international community acted and acted on a scale. Without urgent and sharp increase in funds, NGOs will not be able to save lives.
The time to act is now! We should not wait until images of malnourished children start hitting the screens of international media and famine is declared.
We appeal for more donors to come forward and donate generously to meet the priority needs of the vulnerable people ravaged by drought and climate change. These people need a more robust and unified global response to prevent deaths and save lives. The world should honor the 2011 pledge of "Never Again". There is no place for famine and starvation in the 21st century. History will judge us all by the actions we take today.
