Somalia has Avoided Famine, but Nearly 8.3 Million People are on the Verge of Starvation

Nearly 8.3 million people are waking up without enough to eat. According to new data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the number of children under five admitted to hospitals with more acute malnutrition rose significantly in 2022. An estimated 1.8 million children under five are malnourished, with over 513,550 expected to be severely malnourished by July 2023.

The worst drought in 40 years, with a poor start to October-December rains setting in motion a fifth consecutive season of drought, has forced over 1.3 million people to flee their homes for food and water.

Mercy Corps Country Director for Somalia, Daud Jiran, says:

"While the latest report indicates that famine has been averted in the current period, Somalia's humanitarian situation remains dire. The number of people affected, the length and severity of the drought, and the rising death rates in many places mean that the number of deaths could be similar to what happened during the 2011 drought when over half of the 260,000 deaths happened before a famine (IPC Phase 5) was declared. Make no mistake – children will continue dying in Somalia even if a famine is not formally declared. 

"Climate change and conflict are robbing Somali children of their future as we watch. We've seen mothers who can do nothing but watch in despair and pain as their children starve to death because they have nothing to feed them.

"Our teams in Baidoa and other regions of Somalia report seeing large crowds of people arriving on the edges of town centres on foot or in donkey carts, exhausted and hungry as they flee the fury of the climate crisis. 

"These communities urgently need access to water, food, shelter and other basic necessities, as well as specialized health care to treat malnutrition. We cannot – and must not – fail the people of Somalia again, and we cannot wait for a famine declaration that may never come or for more rainy seasons to fail. Aid organizations require an increase in immediate resources to continue providing lifesaving humanitarian assistance, as well as commitments for longer-term funding to enable these communities to re-establish their livelihoods and build resilience against the future droughts and crises that inevitably lie ahead."