Global Charity Warns of Malnutrition Crisis in Somalia Amid Funding Cuts

MOGADISHU, Xinhua: International medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has warned of soaring malnutrition rates in Somalia, where chronic funding shortfalls have crippled humanitarian efforts.

According to the MSF, without immediate and sustained support, thousands of children face not only starvation but also weakened immunity, increased vulnerability to diseases, and irreversible developmental harm.

Mohammed Ali Omer, the MSF’s head of programs in Somalia, said humanitarian assistance in the East African country is already dangerously low, and now, with reports of further funding cuts, the situation will only worsen, putting more lives at risk.

“The cuts to the nutrition programs are coming at the worst possible time. Malnutrition rates are soaring, displacement is rising, and the need for aid has never been greater,” Ali said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

Somalia is facing a dire malnutrition crisis that has been worsened by prolonged droughts, ongoing conflict, economic instability, and a fragile healthcare system, according to the United Nations.

With the looming threat of a La Nina-driven drought in 2025 likely to push an already vulnerable population to the brink, the MSF urgently called on donors and humanitarian organizations to take immediate action to prevent widespread suffering, as the consequences could be catastrophic.

Data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs show that only 56 percent of Somalia’s humanitarian funding needs were met in 2022, a figure that dropped to just 40 percent by 2024

“The closure of these programs has left a devastating gap. Children in desperate need of life-saving therapeutic food are being turned away,” Ali said.