Somalia: The Cost of Inaction, July 2025

Impact of Funding Reductions

Overview

The humanitarian community in Somalia is at a crossroads. Unprecedented funding reductions have severely undermined the capacity to deliver essential, life-saving assistance. Millions of people who are affected by conflict and climate shocks and have relied on humanitarian aid for decades, are losing their only source of support. Food deliveries have sharply declined or stopped altogether, leaving many to go to bed hungry in a country where 4.6 million people already face acute hunger. Water trucking to remote, drought-prone villages has ceased, and childhood malnutrition is expected to rise as vital nutritional supplements are no longer available. The 3.5 million Somalis who are displaced from their homes and depend on humanitarian aid for survival, are receiving much less assistance than they require.

Aid agencies are in uncharted territory. Instead of focusing on saving lives, the agencies are grappling with extraordinary circumstances that have forced the scaling back, and, in some cases, the abrupt closure of critical programmes. In many areas across Somalia, humanitarian operations have stalled, assistance has dwindled, and the presence of aid workers has decreased at a time of significant needs. Access to healthcare has declined with over 150 clinics affected, placing hundreds of thousands of people at risk of deteriorating health outcomes and possible loss of lives. Funding for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes stands at only 6.6 per cent of the required amount. This is a recipe for a deepening crisis.

In South West State, 40 health facilities have closed, and the number of mobile outreach teams has dropped from 74 in 2024 to just 25 currently, leaving thousands without access to healthcare, while in Puntland, 79 health facilities including all 29 public health units stopped functioning since the start of the year. In Banadir region, over 12,700 malnourished children, including 1,120 suffering from severe acute malnutrition and at risk of death, will soon lose access to lifesaving treatment as 20 supplementary feeding sites face imminent closure. Immediate and sustained funding is essential to prevent unnecessary suffering and death. As of mid-year, key Clusters, including Food Security, WASH, and Nutrition have received less than half of the funding that they received at this time in 2024. To adapt to the new funding reality, aid agencies have reprioritized their response efforts to target 1.3 million people, a 72% reduction from the 4.6 million people originally identified in the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP). The reprioritized plan requires US$367 million, down 74% from the original ask of $1.42 billion. Reprioritization, however, does not reflect a reduction in needs. All the needs outlined in the 2025 HNRP remain valid and urgent. In addition, as a result of dwindling assistance, over two million Somalis are projected to face heightened vulnerability in the coming months.