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Crisis Severity0 Very lowVery high 5
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Impact0 Very lowVery high 5
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Humanitarian Conditions0 Very lowVery high 5
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Complexity0 Very lowVery high 5
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Access ConstraintsNo constraintsExtreme constraints
Key figures
Special Reports
24/04/2023
Special Reports
14/04/2023
Special Reports
27/01/2023
Special Reports
22/12/2022
Special Reports
14/12/2022
Special Reports
18/11/2022
Overview
13/02/2023
There are 8.25 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Somalia. More than 3.86 million of them have been displaced internally by conflict, insecurity, forced evictions, drought, and floods.?The Somali population has pre-existing vulnerabilities related to high poverty rates and is experiencing the compounded effects of long-term conflict and recurrent natural disasters.?
Clan disputes, political tensions, national and foreign military campaigns against Al Shabaab, and continuing Al Shabaab attacks targeting civilians cause insecurity and instability across the country. Al Shabaab controls parts of southern Somalia, particularly rural areas. National and foreign security forces have also carried out human rights abuses against civilians, such as killings and arbitrary arrests.?
Somalia is highly vulnerable to natural hazards, such as drought and floods. The federal Government of Somalia declared a drought in April 2021, after a below-average Deyr rainy season (October–December 2020). As at February 2023, the drought has progressively worsened after five consecutive below-average rainy seasons. More than 80% of the country is facing severe to extreme drought conditions.? The current drought has affected 7.8 million people throughout the country and resulted in the displacement of more than 1,000,000 people. Bay region is projected to face famine for the period April–June 2023.?
Poverty in Somalia is caused by the fractured state of the Government and limited access to livelihood opportunities and basic services. It is particularly widespread among IDPs in settlements and people residing in rural areas.?
INFORM measures Somalia's risk of humanitarian crisis and disaster to be very high, at 8.7/10.?
Latest Developments
31/05/2023
The Horn of Africa is facing a humanitarian crisis caused by climatic change and insecurity. The 2020–2022 drought displaced 2.7 million people and killed 13 million livestock. Deteriorating livelihoods, poor economic conditions, and insecurity are driving hunger, with more than 20 million people needing food assistance in Ethiopia, 1.2 million facing emergency levels of need in Kenya, and 6.6 million in Somalia anticipating Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse food insecurity levels in June 2023. Approximately 1.2 million children, including 528,000 in Ethiopia, 242,500 in Kenya, and 478,000 in Somalia, will suffer from severe acute malnutrition. In Somalia, acute food insecurity is projected to deteriorate through June 2023, bringing 40,350 people to Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) food insecurity levels and facing starvation as a result of drought, high prices, and conflict. The 2023 humanitarian response is only 20% funded, with significant programming cuts expected. ?
Humanitarian Access
15/12/2022
very high constraints
Access constraints in Somalia have remained very high over the past six months. People from minority clans face discrimination from ‘gatekeepers’ who limit their access to humanitarian assistance. ‘Gatekeepers’ have some influence within humanitarian response networks since they are informal intermediaries between IDPs, regional authorities, and NGOs.
Conflict in Somalia stems from interclan tensions, political rivalries, military offensives by government and international armed forces, and Al-Shabaab insurgency. It limits the access of people in need to humanitarian assistance and of humanitarian responders to the affected population. By September, the Government had scaled up military operations against Al-Shabaab in Bay, Galgaduud, Hiran, Lower Shabelle, and Middle Shabelle regions. Diinsoor, Hudur, Qansaxdhere, and Waajid towns were under encirclement by non-state armed groups by late September, with restricted movements into and out of these towns. There are checkpoints in place countrywide, particularly in central and southern parts of Somalia. Security forces, Al-Shabaab, clan militias, and criminal groups impose fees at both legal and illegal checkpoints. Many INGOs and UN agencies are concerned that paying fees at checkpoints would be in violation of the US Government’s sanctions against Al-Shabaab, limiting their access to parts of Somalia under Al-Shabaab control. NGOs also face arbitrary taxation, interference in contracting suppliers, and interference in staff recruitment from authorities. Al-Shabaab taking control of more areas and clan conflicts breaking out suspend humanitarian activities.
Political tensions between the Federal Government and federal member states sometimes affect the timely delivery of humanitarian supplies. In July, a political dispute over a plane taking aid supplies from Mogadishu to Puntland escalated into violence. The plane was forced to return to Mogadishu, and the delivery of aid supplies was deferred to a later date.
For more information you can consult our latest Global Humanitarian Access Overview – December 2022.
Analysis of the famine situation in Somalia
13/09/2022
How drought and conflict impact the food security situation
More than 7 million people in Somalia are projected to face acute food insecurity between June and September 2022, with areas like the Bay region facing the risk of famine. Various factors, including recurrent droughts and conflict cause food insecurity in the country.
Our team explores in a new audiovisual format historical trends of food security and institutional humanitarian aid funding in Somalia, covering the period from January 2010 to July 2022. Watch the analysis here.
Key Priorities
14/09/2022
Food security: Food security is deteriorating throughout Somalia, and drought conditions are expected to persist in 2022. 6.7 million people are estimated to be in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and Emergency (IPC Phase 4) conditions between October-December 2022. Food insecurity worsened by droughts has resulted in 55% of children under five suffering from chronic malnutrition. The key drivers of food insecurity include drought, conflict, and high food prices.?
Health: At least 6.5 million people in Somalia require lifesaving essential healthcare and nutrition services. Excess mortality and increased morbidity continue to be driven by malnutrition, disease outbreaks (COVID-19, cholera, measles, malaria), and conflict. There is limited access to healthcare, with only 19% of districts in Somalia having adequate healthcare facilities. Secondary healthcare facilities, which at times are needed to respond to complicated medical cases, are all located in urban centres.?
Shelter/NFIs: Shelter and NFI needs are high, especially for IDPs, refugee returnees, refugees, and asylum seekers. Many IDP households decide to live in informal settings because of overcrowding in official camps. Makeshift shelters, however, do not provide adequate privacy nor protection against bad weather conditions. These shelters are often set up on private land, putting IDPs at risk of eviction. Priority NFI needs include blankets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, solar lamps, and kitchen utensils.?
Education: 2.4 million school-aged children have been affected by drought. 1.7 million children have dropped out of school, while 720,000 are at risk of dropping out. 250 schools countrywide have been closed because challenges such as water shortages. Drought-affected children face protection risks such as early marriage, abuse, child neglect, and child labour.?
