The worrying development comes after the October to December period. Deyr The season’s rains failed and crop production fell. The most affected are poor farmers, herders and internally displaced people.
Drought, displacement, aid shortage
In Somalia, drought, insecurity and conflict in the center, south and parts of the north – driven by insurgency, competition for resources and other factors – have displaced people while disrupting livelihoods and access to markets.
The situation was further aggravated by high prices for local and imported food, along with a reduction in humanitarian assistance.
The CPI, a UN-backed initiative, uses a scale of one to five to measure the severity of food insecurity that helps governments and humanitarian workers classify crises.
Millions are hungry
The experts estimated that A staggering 6.5 million Somalis face severe food insecurity.o CPI Phase 3 and above, compared to 3.4 million during the first quarter of 2025.
More than two million are in the emergency level or Phase 4.
“The majority of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in the northern, central and southern regions are classified in Phase 3,” they said.
“These livelihoods face significant gaps in food consumption, increasing acute malnutrition and are Relying on crisis or emergency coping strategies only to meet basic food needs..”
CPI analysis revealed that this year, 1.84 million young children are or will suffer from acute malnutrition, with 483,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM).
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), this condition, also known as severe wasting, is the deadliest form of malnutrition.
Step up the action
Acute food insecurity in Somalia is expected to worsen through March during the dry season. Jilaal season, the hottest time of the year.
The forecasts indicate that the Gu The April-June rainy season is likely to be normal in most areas of the country, which should lead to the gradual restoration of water and pasture resources.
As a result, the number of people in IPC Phase 3 or higher is likely to be reduced to 5.5 million, “however, Acute food insecurity will remain widespread and slight improvements will be uneven. in all livelihood zones.”
The IPC called for an urgent expansion of life-saving humanitarian assistance to hotspots where high levels of acute food insecurity and acute malnutrition intersect.
Other recommendations include increasing aid in rural and underserved areas; strengthen coordination to facilitate an integrated response that combines food security, nutrition, health and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and other sectoral interventions, and improve the targeting of humanitarian assistance to ensure it reaches those most in need.