Somalia could see its life-saving food aid grind to a halt by April unless urgent funding is secured, the United Nations World Food Program(WFP) warned on Friday. The agency said millions of people are at risk of worsening hunger due to failed rainy seasons, conflict, and declining humanitarian support.

An estimated 4.4 million Somalis are facing crisis-level food insecurity, with nearly one million enduring severe hunger. Ross Smith, WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, described the situation as “deteriorating at an alarming rate,” adding that families “have lost everything” and are being pushed to the brink without immediate aid.

Somali traders sits next to watermelons for sale at an open-air grocery market as Muslims start the fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, within the Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 18, 2026. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

Somalia declared a national drought emergency in November following recurrent poor rainy seasons, while neighboring countries in the region have also been impacted. The WFP, the largest humanitarian agency operating in Somalia, has already cut assistance from 2.2 million people earlier this year to just over 600,000 due to funding shortages. Programs supporting pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children have also been sharply reduced.

The agency highlighted the urgency of the situation, noting that it faces a critical moment similar to the 2022 crisis, when famine was narrowly averted thanks to large-scale international support. The WFP is now seeking $95 million to sustain operations between March and August.

“If our already reduced assistance ends, the humanitarian, security, and economic consequences will be devastating, with the effects felt far beyond Somalia’s borders,” Smith said.