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Current Requirements (US$)$852 million
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Current People Hyper Prioritized1.6 million
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Current Hyper Prioritized Requirements$350 million
GHO estimates at launch (8 December 2025)
Crisis overview
Somalia continues to face severe humanitarian challenges driven by climate shocks, conflict, and disease outbreaks. In 2025, a prolonged drought in northern regions due to below-average Gu rains (April to June), has resulted in worsening food insecurity, severe water scarcity, lack of pasture, increased migration of pastoralists and heightened protection risks. Forecast of below-average Deyr rains (October to December) are expected to further heighten needs into early 2026.
According to the 2025 post-Gu IPC analysis, 4.4 million people are projected to face acute food insecurity, including 921,000 in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), a 35 per cent increase from 2024. Key drivers of food insecurity include conflict, climate shocks, high food prices, and reduced humanitarian assistance.
Disease outbreaks remain critical with 46,000 measles, 81,000 cholera, and 483,000 malaria cases reported up to October 2025. Nearly 3 million people are vulnerable to measles due to low immunization and poor living conditions. Cholera transmission persists in Banadir and Kismayo; diphtheria surged with 140 cases in September. Funding shortfalls are reducing response coverage and exacerbating vulnerability.
Hiran, Somalia
Drought-affected pastoral households are provided with water by trucking services.
SCI SomaliaThe nutrition situation has deteriorated. About 1.85 million children under five will suffer from acute malnutrition (August 2025–July 2026), including 421,000 severely malnourished, a 16 per cent increase from last year. Access to education has declined, with 62 per cent of school-aged children out of school in 2025, up from 56 per cent in 2024.
Displacement has risen sharply, with 680,000 displaced in 2025, totalling 3.3 million internally displaced persons in Somalia. Evictions affected 150,000 people, while nearly 200,000 remain at high risk due to tenure insecurity. Protection risks are high, with 648 children (178 girls) verified and reported as recruited and used in armed conflict between January and June 2025 and widespread gender-based violence (GBV).
In 2026, 4.8 million people in Somalia need humanitarian assistance, a 20 per cent decrease from 2025. However, this reduction does not reflect improved conditions. Instead, it stems from a more stringent scope-setting approach that identified 7.5 million shock-affected individuals (45 per cent of the population) in 64 districts versus 90 districts last year.
Pockets of vulnerable populations excluded from the humanitarian caseload will be supported by resilience and development actors. These include individuals facing chronic food insecurity and internally displaced people without durable solutions in sight. Given their high vulnerability, the absence of targeted support—particularly in the form of resilience-building and long-term solutions—risks triggering a deepening humanitarian crisis.
Response priorities and financial requirements for 2026
The 2026 humanitarian response in Somalia will be hyper-prioritized, focusing exclusively on life-saving interventions for the most vulnerable people.
A total of 2.4 million people are targeted for humanitarian assistance in 2026, a 47 per cent decrease from 4.57 million in 2025. This reduction reflects a narrower operational scope rather than improved conditions. Humanitarian actors will require an estimated $850 million to deliver the most prioritized response, representing a 40 per cent reduction from $1.42 billion last year. Humanitarian needs are now more concentrated and severe, with 63 per cent of people in need located in just 16 districts. Low funding levels and access constraints will limit the response to less than half of the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) targeted people, underscoring the importance of maintaining realistic high-impact interventions focused on saving lives and sustaining essential services.
In 2026, the humanitarian response prioritizes 1.6 million people facing extreme inter-sectoral Severity 4 conditions. The response will be less clusterized, emphasizing coordinated, cross-sectoral interventions tailored to the most critical needs. Community consultations and engagement will be central to identifying local priorities. These community-driven insights will be reflected in the HNRP and monitored throughout the 2026 implementation period to ensure accountability and responsiveness. Area-based coordination will be strengthened to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the response in the prioritized districts.
Gedo, Somalia
Xawo, 20, holds her 9-month-old baby, Xabso, at a Targeted Supplementary Feeding Programme (TSFP) centre.
OCHAWith the closure of the United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS) and anticipated reductions in United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) and African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) capacities, humanitarian actors must engage all relevant parties to the conflict—including non-state actors—to negotiate access and overcome operational barriers through localized access strategies.
Close monitoring, flexible access strategies, and concerted efforts to stay and deliver will be essential during this transition. The humanitarian response is also informed by prevailing risks, including drought and conflict. With a potential for a La Niña event to trigger drought-like conditions, the response must anticipate emerging needs and make investments to mitigate adverse impacts and prevent erosion of community resilience. Strategic partnerships and humanitarian development peace collaboration will be pivotal in averting escalation in humanitarian needs.
Somalia
2025 in review: Response highlights and consequences of inaction
Response highlights
As of September 2025, under the Humanitarian Reset, 252 organizations delivered lifesaving and protection assistance to approximately 1.3 million people, representing 29 percent of the 4.57 million people targeted nationwide, including populations in the 32 prioritized districts. Food security partners alone delivered lifesaving food and cash assistance to 1.3 million vulnerable people. Partners applied vulnerability-based targeting in accordance with the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) policies on registration, targeting, data-sharing, and referrals.
Protection partners supported over 254,000 people with specialized services, including community-based protection, psychosocial support, individual assistance, referrals, and case management. To contain the measles outbreak, health partners have vaccinated 334,300 children as of September 2025. In response to the Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD)/cholera outbreak, approximately 339,000 people gained access to improved sanitation services through the construction and rehabilitation of emergency and communal latrines, solid waste management campaigns, and the distribution of sanitation tools. Education Cluster partners supported 168,000 crisis-affected children and over 5,000 teachers across 775 learning spaces, providing education and essential services like food, water, and sanitation.
The Logistics Cluster significantly expanded its operation in 2025, accessing 19 hard-to-reach locations—nearly five times more than in 2024—and delivering over 800 metric tons of life-saving cargo. This was achieved through targeted coordination, infrastructure assessments, and strategic interventions, including the opening of new corridors and lifting of blockades in some besieged areas in Southwest State. UNHAS supported the humanitarian community by transporting 5,823 passengers and over 68 metric tons of cargo to more than 25 locations, including remote sites inaccessible by road.
Mudug, Somali
OCHA Somalia’s Galkaayo Sub-office and cluster leads meet with drought-displaced communities.
OCHAConsequences of funding cuts
Severe funding cuts in 2025 forced the HCT to reduce its target population from 4.6 million to 1.3 million, a 72 per cent decrease. Food Security Cluster partners reduced transfer values, reduced duration of assistance, and cut caseloads by 70 per cent, leaving over 600,000 vulnerable people—mainly in IPC Phase 4 areas—without critical food assistance. Emergency agriculture and livestock assistance to over 600,000 people living in rural and underserved areas has also been further impacted by constraining local food production. Nutrition services declined by 39 per cent compared to 2024. Over 60,500 children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) missed treatment, alongside 140,000 moderately malnourished children and 17,000 pregnant or lactating women. If funding gaps persist, 150,000 children with SAM may remain unreached.
Only 273,000 people received multipurpose cash assistance, just 29 per cent of the annual target. More than 200 health facilities have closed, and mobile teams have been disbanded. The anticipated withdrawal of additional development assistance to health facilities threatens services in 300 more facilities in the next 2–3 months. Pipeline breaks in cash and voucher assistance, critical nutrition supplies and essential medicines in December 2025 /January 2026 put 600,000 people at risk of losing vital food assistance, approximately 84,000 children with severe acute malnutrition may remain untreated, while 800,000 people may be denied essential health services—reversing gains in maternal and child health. Urgent funding and coordinated humanitarian action are critical to prevent widespread suffering and escalating mortality.
Protection services were halved, affecting 1.7 million people, including 600,000 children and 220,000 from marginalized groups. GBV services declined sharply, with 75 centers closed. Education cluster partners assisted 87,000 fewer children than in 2024, and 477 learning spaces were closed due to funding cuts and reduced partner capacity. Over 80 per cent of the targeted population lacked adequate shelter. CCCM partners ceased operations in 15 districts, suspending services for 900,000 IDPs. Key disruptions included halted tracking, reduced site management, and cancelled climate resilience activities—leaving critical needs unmet.
Maryama’s story : resilience in the wake of displacement
Maryama, a mother of nine, has faced years of hardship as an internally displaced person (IDP) in Somalia. In 2000, she fled her hometown of Waajid due to drought and conflict, settling in Siliga camp in Garowe, Puntland State. Life there was unstable, and she was eventually evicted from her shelter, forcing her family to move again. Tired of constant displacement, Maryama and others saved money to buy land near Jilab camp. “I managed to save $300,” she said. Now, her family lives in a shelter made of wood and mats. Owning land brought some peace, but the area lacks basic services—no clean water, latrines, schools, or healthcare.
Maryama fears for her safety and that of other women. “I am afraid every time I leave the shelter,” she said, citing gender-based violence and venomous snakes in the area. Her story reflects the struggles of thousands of IDPs in Garowe, who live without shelter, services, or security. Women, children, people with disability and minority groups bear the brunt of displacements and evictions. Around 3.3 million people are displaced in Somalia, many due to the impact of climate shocks and conflict, and rely entirely on humanitarian assistance. Maryama’s community, for example, needs sanitation, water, education, and healthcare assistance. “We are grateful for the land,” she said, “but our children deserve better.
References
- Humanitarian actors will target populations in severity 4 (none in 5) applying an 80% PiN target cap and 30% in severity 3.
- Of the 1.3 million people targeted in the prioritized districts, approximately 870,000 were reached with life-saving assistance—representing 87 percent coverage.
- Inaction carries a devastating price the collapse of diseases surveillance at 580 sentinel sites, crippling the outbreak response efforts in a country that already has one of the highest numbers of zero-dose children and high maternal mortality ratio (621/100,000).