The people of Somalia face a worsening humanitarian crisis. Years of protracted conflict, drought, displacement, and disease outbreaks have left more than 4.6 million people face acute food insecurity in 2025. Nearly 800,000 are projected to fall into emergency levels of hunger. Among the most vulnerable are children — an estimated 1.8 million under the age of five will suffer from acute malnutrition, with close to half a million at risk of dying without urgent intervention.
The crisis has been sharply intensified by the recent termination of funding from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance to UN nutrition and health programmes. This withdrawal has severely disrupted operations across the country, creating dangerous gaps in life-saving services for women and children.
At an outreach center established by SOS Children’s Villages on the outskirts of Mogadishu, internally displaced families arrive each day in search of help.
“We don’t have anything,” says Nuuno Hassan, a 32-year-old mother of seven who fled Baidoa after losing all her livestock. “My husband got sick and I had to flee with my children. I came to seek assistance from SOS. I was told that I can get medical care from this camp.”
A Lifeline in Crisis: Somalia's Emergency Appeal
SOS Children’s Villages Somalia has launched a €6 million emergency appeal to address these growing needs. Running from May 2025 to April 2026, the appeal aims to reach more than 184,000 people across eight districts, focusing on integrated support in nutrition, health, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), protection, education, and food security.
A significant portion of the funding — nearly €2 million — is directed toward filling critical nutrition supply gaps created by the loss of international humanitarian aid. At eight health facilities, SOS Children’s Villages teams are treating children suffering from malnutrition, while educating caregivers on essential feeding and hygiene. Community outreach teams extend this support into remote and underserved areas.
“Cases of malnutrition are increasing daily among the patients we serve and the beneficiaries we care for,” says Dr. Abdinur Abdullah Salad, a medical director with SOS Children’s Villages Somalia.
The health system in Somalia is under immense strain. Services such as maternal and newborn care, mental health support, and vaccination coverage remain severely limited. Despite these challenges,
SOS Children’s Villages in Somalia continues to operate health centers in priority districts, including Barawa, Baidoa, and Balcad, where our services are often the only ones available.
SOS Children’s Villages in Somalia is working to keep essential services running — but resources are stretched thin.
“What we seriously need right now is to bridge the gap that was left by the funding cuts,” says Dr. Mohamed Dakane, SOS Children’s Villages Somalia’s Humanitarian Director. “Funding gaps actually have severely affected our programme and we hope to maintain all our facilities so that people can access basic services in the country.”
Despite these limitations, SOS Children’s Villages health and nutrition services are reaching those who need it most. In medical centers in Mogadishu and Baidoa, mothers and children are receiving vital support.
“Today marks the third day for me here (at this facility),” says Jamila, a young mother who visited an outreach center on the outskirts of Mogadishu. “My child was suffering from malnutrition, but the milk she is being given is full of vitamins. Her situation has now improved.”
Displacement and Lack of Safe Water Compound the Crisis
Beyond nutrition and health, the humanitarian response includes providing clean water, protection services, and cash assistance. Many families displaced by drought and conflict are now living in overcrowded informal settlements with little access to safe water or sanitation. SOS Children’s Villages is responding by extending water pipelines, building toilets and handwashing facilities, and distributing hygiene kits.
Children are also at high risk of violence, separation from families, and trauma. SOS Children’s Villages provides psychosocial support and child protection through child-friendly spaces and outreach programmes, and continues to offer education services to children who were taken out of school due to displacement.
“We are trying as much as possible to make sure that the mortality and morbidity rates are actually reduced by virtue of our interventions,” says Dr. Dakane. “And last year alone SOS has managed to provide life-saving assistance to 1.6 million people in the region where we work. And this has significantly contributed to reduction in morbidity and mortality in the country.”
This is a critical moment for Somalia — and for the children and families whose survival depends on continued humanitarian aid. SOS Children’s Villages is urging partners, donors, and the global community to step up and help bridge the widening gaps.