By Abdirahman Hussein and Edwin Okoth
BAIDOA, Somalia, Aug 11 (Reuters) – Funding to tackle acute malnutrition in parts of Somalia has dropped by more than 80% this year, Médecins Sans Frontières said on Tuesday, even though one in every four children screened in displacement camps in the southwest is severely malnourished.
MSF Health Adviser Mitchell Sangma said the United States had cut its support to aid agencies in the country from $70 million last year to no funding this year, leaving aid groups struggling to respond as needs rise. Other Western donors have also cut funding.
“This year we have admitted 22,000 nutrition cases, more than 80% higher than last year. When we need this massive scale-up in intervention measures, we are seeing less interest from donor support,” Sangma said.
At the Elbet 1 camp, a collection of makeshift tents constructed by a patchwork of tarpaulins in the southwestern town of Baidoa, parents bring their children to a clinic under a corrugated iron roof. They are weighed and measured for height and the thickness of their arms, which is an indicator of malnutrition.
A July survey by MSF of 888 households in 14 displacement sites in Baidoa found that one in four children was severely malnourished. One third of families said they were surviving on one meal a day, while only 2% could afford three meals.
At the nearby Bay Regional Hospital in Baidoa, which treats people from the town, semi-nomadic communities and the camp for displaced, a dozen gaunt children lay on beds in one ward, some with drips in their hands as others were given oxygen to help them breathe.
“My child had been sick for a month and a half, and we kept her at home. God knows we did not know that we could get medical assistance. We gave her a small amount of medicine, but it did not help,” said Abdi Isse, who lay next to his child, now admitted for malnutrition.
FAILED RAINS, CONFLICT, EXACERBATE CRISIS
Somalia is facing a worsening hunger crisis after repeated failed rainy seasons devastated crops, killed livestock and depleted water supplies. Conflict and insecurity have compounded the crisis, disrupting livelihoods and limiting access to food, healthcare and aid.
In February, the Somali government and the United Nations said about 6.5 million people in the country faced acute hunger due to drought.
MSF said it had screened more than 21,000 children under five in Baidoa since the start of the year, finding acute malnutrition rates of about 50%. Acute malnutrition is less extreme than severe malnutrition but still involves sudden weight loss and is life-threatening.
The organisation said it had tripled the number of beds in its Baidoa facility, which provides therapeutic feeding to patients, to 150 in recent months due to the number of malnourished patients.
Sangma said teams were having to make difficult decisions over who to admit and who to discharge. The lack of food and water means those discharged often end up being re-admitted due to complications, he said.
‘THE WORLD CANNOT WAIT FOR FAMINE’
According to the United Nations, more than half a million people were displaced in Somalia in the first three months of 2026, with drought driving virtually all of the movement. Women and children accounted for about 85% of those displaced.
The crisis is reviving fears of a repeat of Somalia’s 2022 near-famine, but aid agencies say the response is being constrained by severe funding shortfalls.
MSF says there is only about $300 million available for Somalia from donors, compared to $2.2 billion that was provided by donors in 2022 when a similar drought situation was experienced.
“The world cannot wait for a famine declaration before acting,” said Allara Ali, MSF’s project coordinator in Somalia. “Action is needed now to prevent loss of lives.”
(Reporting by Abdirahman Hussein in Baidoa and Edwin Okoth in Naiorbi; Writing by Vincent Mumo Nzilani and David Lewis; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Sharon Singleton)
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