Somalia’s child malnutrition crisis is deepening, as severe funding cuts and repeated droughts leave vulnerable families struggling to find enough food, clean water and medical care.
Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF, says malnutrition admissions in Somalia have surged this year, with more than 22,000 nutrition cases admitted so far-over 80 percent higher than last year.
In Baidoa, southwest Somalia, an MSF survey of 888 households across displacement sites found that one in four children was severely malnourished, while many families said they were surviving on just one meal a day.
MSF says it has screened more than 21,000 children under five in Baidoa this year, finding acute malnutrition rates of around 50 percent.
The crisis is being driven by failed rainy seasons, drought, displacement and conflict, which have damaged livelihoods and reduced access to essential services.
Humanitarian funding has also fallen sharply. MSF says only around 300 million dollars is currently available for Somalia, compared with 2.2 billion dollars in 2022, when the country faced a near-famine.
MSF is urging donors to act immediately, warning that the world cannot wait for famine to be officially declared before responding.
For Somalia’s children, aid funding could mean the difference between receiving lifesaving treatment and being left without access to food or medical care.
