Nearly 5.5 million people in Somalia are expected to face hunger between October and December, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The crisis is being intensified by 35 years of conflict and population displacement, recent climate emergencies and the collapse in humanitarian assistance.
At the central hospital in Kismayo, the capital of Jubaland in southern Somalia, children are receiving emergency treatment at a stabilization centre supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The patients described in the report were between 12 and 14 months old and weighed no more than five kilograms.
The centre’s intensive care unit is treating children with severe acute malnutrition and different complications, including dehydration and pneumonia. Medical interventions include oxygen, nutritional supplements and antibiotics. One child from a rural area west of Kismayo was described as being in critical condition when she arrived.
Rural areas account for 62% of malnutrition cases, according to the FAO. Access to healthcare is particularly difficult there because of a lack of infrastructure and transportation. Travel is also restricted by the al-Shabaab armed group, which controls parts of the countryside and can prevent families from taking children to seek treatment.
The crisis is compounded by ongoing fighting in Jubaland, where federal forces are conducting an offensive against al-Shabaab. Residents have reported that combat, aircraft and bombardments have destroyed farmland and forced people to leave their villages.
The United Nations estimates that 433,000 children under five will suffer from severe acute malnutrition in the coming months. Somalia’s 2026 humanitarian response plan has received only 15% of the funding requested.
Sources: RFI.