Communities across Somalia are struggling to survive as drought, soaring water costs, and severe reductions in humanitarian aid drive a worsening health crisis, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned. The medical organisation says urgent measures are needed to prevent mass suffering and deaths.
MSF reported in a statement on Tuesday that its teams are treating increasing numbers of children and adults suffering from severe malnutrition and preventable illnesses.
Health facilities in Baidoa and Mudug are overwhelmed with cases of measles, diphtheria, and acute watery diarrhoea among displaced people and host communities seeking medical care.
Funding for humanitarian operations has fallen to its lowest level in a decade, the organisation said, causing critical services to collapse across the country.
“Since early 2025, more than 200 health and nutrition facilities have closed nationwide, and food assistance has dropped from reaching 1.1 million people per month to just 350,000.”
MSF is calling for urgent expansion of nutrition support, vaccination drives, and water services, alongside long-term measures to help communities cope with repeated climate shocks. “Without a consolidated multisectoral response, a massive loss of life cannot be prevented,” the group said.
Families are abandoning their homes after losing livelihoods to the drought and are seeking refuge in overcrowded displacement camps where access to water and sanitation is limited. Water prices have risen sharply, with a 200-litre barrel costing $2.50 (Sh322) to $4.00 (Sh515) in Baidoa and Mudug, making it unaffordable for many households.
“We are seeing children arriving at our hospitals in critical condition, often after travelling for days without food or water. The drought has not only dried up wells but also the support systems families rely on. Our teams are working around the clock to treat severe malnutrition and outbreaks of measles and diphtheria, but the sheer volume of patients is stretching our capacity to the limit. People are exhausted, and without immediate access to water and healthcare, more lives will be lost to preventable causes,” said Allara Ali, MSF Project Coordinator in Somalia.
Kaltuma Kerow, a 35-year-old mother living in an IDP camp in Baidoa, described the daily struggle to survive. “We are extremely short of food and water, and we fear diseases like cholera. Hunger and lack of clean water are making everything worse,” she said, speaking for a community made up mainly of unemployed men and women, many pregnant or caring for children.
In December 2025, MSF launched an emergency water trucking program in Baidoa to tackle acute shortages.
By mid-January, teams had distributed over 6 million litres of safe drinking water to 17 IDP sites, while installing water bladders and solar lights to improve safety and access. Yet, the organisation warned that the need far exceeds what can currently be supplied.
Somalia is among the world’s most climate-exposed nations. In November 2025, the Federal Government declared a drought emergency following four failed rainy seasons.
UN reports project that by the end of 2025, 4.4 million people may face crisis-level or worse food insecurity, including 1.85 million children under five at risk of acute malnutrition.
More than 3.3 million people have already been displaced, many settling in overcrowded camps in Baidoa and Mudug. In October, MSF teams in Baidoa recorded a 48 per cent increase in admissions for severe acute malnutrition compared to the previous month.
At the same time, 189 children were treated for suspected measles, 95 per cent of whom had never been vaccinated.
In Mudug, admissions for severe acute malnutrition in inpatient therapeutic feeding centres rose by 35 per cent over the same period. Across the two regions, more than 182 health facilities are closed or operating at limited capacity, with an estimated 300,000 children expected to be acutely malnourished.
“This situation is unacceptable because it is predictable and largely preventable. The current humanitarian response is at its lowest level in a decade, leaving millions without access to basic healthcare, food, or water. The international community and Somali authorities must urgently act to prevent a catastrophic loss of life in the coming months,” said Mr Elshafie Mohamed, MSF Country Representative in Somalia.
