Somalia Faces Surge in Child Malnutrition Amid Conflict and Climate Crisis
Severe malnutrition among children in Somalia has reached alarming levels, with health facilities reporting record admissions as conflict, displacement, and extreme weather push communities to the brink.
Somalia is grappling with a severe malnutrition crisis, particularly among children, as health facilities supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) report record admissions.
In May alone, the stabilization centre at Kismayo General Hospital admitted 277 critically ill children, the highest monthly number since 2023. Between January and May, the centre admitted 863 patients, marking a nearly 70% increase compared to the previous five months.
Marwo Abdikarim, who traveled hundreds of kilometers with her 11-month-old son, Ahmed Hussein, to seek emergency care, expressed relief after her son received life-saving treatment. “They gave him medicine when I arrived. They gave him milk. Thank God, he is fine now. I didn’t think he would make it,” she said.
Stabilization centres like the one in Kismayo provide critical care for children under five suffering from complications caused by hunger. However, such facilities are scarce, and many nutritional clinics, which once played a key role in preventing widespread malnutrition, are closing due to funding cuts.
The Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS), supported by the ICRC, has also reported a surge in patients at its outpatient nutrition clinics. The rising needs come amid intensifying conflict, mass displacement, and a cycle of floods and droughts that are devastating communities.
“Conflict is uprooting families, floods are destroying crops, and some areas are already parched by drought,” said Antoine Grand, head of the ICRC delegation in Somalia. “Parents simply cannot afford food, and small children are the first to starve.”
Revised humanitarian projections estimate that food insecurity will worsen in the coming months, with nearly 47,000 children expected to suffer from acute malnutrition.
Kokche News Agency Report:
Somalia is facing a severe malnutrition crisis, with health facilities reporting record admissions of children suffering from hunger-related complications. The ICRC and Somali Red Crescent Society are working to provide life-saving treatment, but funding cuts and extreme weather conditions are exacerbating the crisis.
