Cuts to Aid Deepen Somalia's Child Health Crisis

In 2025 Somalia's humanitarian response has been sharply reduced after global donor shortfalls and specific cuts from the United States. The UN's 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan originally sought 1.42 billion dollars but has been reprioritised and will now target 1.3 million people. As a result, many nutrition sites and mobile health teams have been closed, and more patients are arriving at stabilization centres.

The World Food Programme has said it will sharply reduce emergency food assistance, cutting the number of people reached from 1.1 million in August to 350,000 in the coming months. Health clinics supported by aid agencies have recorded a rise in admissions for severe acute malnutrition; the stabilization centre in Kismayo admitted 277 critically ill children in May and 863 between January and May. Although donor funding has fallen, humanitarian needs have not decreased, and agencies have been forced to prioritise life-saving activities while thousands remain without basic care.