Half of displaced children in southwest Somalia acutely malnourished as funding drops 80%

A severe humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Baidoa, Somalia, where a Doctors Without Borders survey reveals that 50% of displaced children are acutely malnourished and 25% suffer from severe acute malnutrition. This surge in hunger comes as international funding to tackle malnutrition has dropped by over 80%, driven by the United States completely halting its $70 million aid program. Over 500,000 people have been displaced by drought in 2026, leaving families surviving on a single daily meal while overwhelmed hospitals face a 60% patient re-admission rate.

Baidoa child malnutrition crisis

• ▪The July 2026 survey by Doctors Without Borders in Baidoa, Somalia, revealed that 25% of children under five in the displacement camps suffered from severe acute malnutrition.
• ▪A July 2026 survey of 888 households across 14 displacement sites in Baidoa, Somalia, found that approximately 50% of children under five were acutely malnourished.

Drought displacement patterns

• ▪More than half a million Somalis were newly displaced in the first three months of 2026, with nine out of 10 of these displacements driven by severe drought.
• ▪Women and children accounted for approximately 85% of the more than 500,000 people displaced in Somalia during the first quarter of 2026.

Humanitarian funding cuts

• ▪Available donor funding for Somalia in 2026 stood at approximately $300 million, compared to the $2.2 billion provided during the 2022 drought crisis.
• ▪The United States fully halted its financial support to aid agencies in Somalia in 2026, down from $70 million provided in 2025.
• ▪International donor funding to tackle acute malnutrition in parts of Somalia dropped by more than 80% in 2026 compared to previous years.
• ▪Somalia's overall humanitarian response plan was reduced by 40% in 2026 and remained less than one-third funded by July 2026.

MSF hospital admissions surge

• ▪Doctors Without Borders admitted 22,000 nutrition cases in Baidoa between January and August 2026, representing an increase of over 80% compared to the same period in 2025.
• ▪Doctors Without Borders expanded its inpatient therapeutic feeding facility at Bay Regional Hospital in Baidoa from 50 beds to 150 beds in 2026 to handle rising admissions.
• ▪The re-admission rate for malnourished children in Doctors Without Borders programs in Baidoa exceeded 60% due to patients returning to environments lacking food and clean water.

Food insecurity displaced families

• ▪Only 2% of the 888 households surveyed by Doctors Without Borders in Baidoa's displacement sites in July 2026 could afford three meals a day.
• ▪The July 2026 survey of 888 households in Baidoa's displacement camps found that one-third of families were surviving on only one meal per day.
• ▪None of the households interviewed in the July 2026 Baidoa survey had access to meat, poultry, fish, legumes, fruits, oils, or fats.