Fifteen Years On: Somalia Cannot Afford Another Famine
Mogadishu, Somalia: Fifteen years after famine was declared in Somalia in 2011, a crisis that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, World Vision is warning that the country stands on the edge of another severe hunger emergency. Persistent drought, compounded by a sharp decline in humanitarian funding, threatens to unravel years of progress made in strengthening food security and community resilience across the country.
In 2011, Somalia endured its worst humanitarian crisis in living memory. A famine was formally declared, and more than 250,000 people lost their lives due to hunger and thirst, more than 130 000 being children under the age of five. In the aftermath, the world made a solemn promise: never again.
In the years since, enormous effort has gone into recovery and resilience-building strengthening early warning systems, investing in livelihoods, and working to ensure that no community would ever again be pushed over the edge into famine. Fifteen years later, that promise is being tested. Somalia is once again facing a catastrophic drought.
World Vision has recorded a 60% increase in cases of severe malnutrition across the country, as of April 2026 more than 3500 children have been diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition across health facilities supported by World Vision. In parts of the country, communities are already experiencing famine-like conditions, a level of hunger and suffering that echoes 2011.
Humanitarian organisations on the ground have mobilised to respond, but what is being delivered is a trickle against an overwhelming need.
Health facilities providing life-saving nutrition support to malnourished women and children are scaling down or closing their doors. Millions of displaced people are going without the support they urgently need.
Hawa, a mother of five with a severely malnourished youngest child, doesn't have to imagine famine, she's already living it.
“We walked for three days to reach this health facility so that I could get my child some help," says Hawa, waiting anxiously for her child to be seen at a World Vision-supported health facility in Buurhakaba "This is the closest facility to us. Others have closed. Without this place, only Allah knows what would happen to us."
"I don't know what I will give my children to eat," she says. "I know the others will follow, because I have no food to give them. I don't want my children to die of hunger." She added.
Kevin Mackey, World Vision Somalia National Director
“For many Somali families, this is no longer a warning about what could happen, it is a daily struggle to survive. Parents are skipping meals so their children can eat. Mothers are walking for hours in search of water. Families who have endured drought, conflict, and displacement are now running out of options.
We have seen this before, and we know how this story ends when the world waits too long. A repeat of the 2011 famine is still preventable, but only if we act now. As of July 2026, Somalia’s Humanitarian Response Plan has received just 20% of the funding required USD 180 million of the USD 852 million needed. That gap is not measured in dollars; it is measured in hungry children, desperate families, and lives that could still be saved. The time to act is now, before preventable suffering becomes an irreversible tragedy."
World Vision is calling on donor governments to urgently close the funding gap in the Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan, prioritising support that keeps children alive in the months ahead. We are calling on the international community to release emergency funding before conditions worsen further, and to protect the early warning and resilience investments that have helped prevent famine until now.
About World Vision
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organisation dedicated to working with children, families and their communities to reach their full potential by tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Walter Mawere
World Vision Somalia Communication and Marketing Manager
Joy Kivata
Regional Communications and Public Engagement Manager