Press Release: UN agencies warn of worsening hunger and malnutrition crisis in Somalia as famine risk emerges

Country: Somalia Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Please refer to the attached file. PRESS RELEASE 15 May 2026 UN agencies warn of worsening hunger and malnutrition crisis in Somalia as famine risk emerges Food insecurity and malnutrition worsen across Somalia as the first famine risk since the 2022 crisis is confirmed amid the compounding effects of multiple shocks. MOGADISHU, Somalia – The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned today of a rapidly intensifying hunger emergency in Somalia that is pushing 6 million people – 31 percent of the population – into critical levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) between April and June 2026. This now includes one of the worst malnutrition crises in the world impacting approximately 1.9 million children, of whom 493,000 face severe acute malnutrition, who are 12 times at higher risk of death compared to well-nourished children. Among those projected to be acutely food insecure, close to 1.9 million are facing Emergency (IPC Phase 4), a number that has tripled in less than a year, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis report. Meanwhile, populations in agropastoral livelihoods in Burhakaba district of Bay region in southwest Somalia face the risk of famine if a worst-case scenario develops where the current April to June Gu season rains fail, food prices continue to rise sharply, and humanitarian assistance is not scaled up to reach the most vulnerable populations through June 2026. Nearly 40 per cent of children under five in this area are already acutely malnourished. This marks the first risk of famin...

Original source: Relief Web