By Pavan Kulkarni
September 8, 2026 Breakthrough News
Somalia is already reeling from repeated droughts and floods, with millions facing acute hunger. Now economic shocks from the war on Iran compound US cuts to humanitarian aid, as El Niño’s peak portends devastating floods once again.
Somali women displaced by drought sit at Feynuus Nutrition Centre on the outskirts of the capital, Mogadishu, Somalia Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. Photo: AP
With floods forecast to follow on the heels of a prolonged drought amid rising malnutrition and displacement, “Somalia is right on the cusp of something much worse,” Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, said on September 3.
Following a fact-finding visit to the East African country, ranked 123rd among the 123 countries in the 2025 Global Hunger Index, Konyndyk said, “Families have exhausted nearly every coping mechanism at their disposal.”
They had already endured the worst drought in 40 years that parched the Horn of Africa since 2020. The end of the drought in 2023 brought no relief because when it finally rained, it was a deluge – washing away crops and livestock that had survived the drought. A locust outbreak left behind by the floods destroyed more crops.
“Somalia is at the epicenter of climate change, despite its negligible greenhouse gas emissions, and suffers recurrent extreme weather events that destroy lives and livelihoods,” the World Food Program (WFP) explains.
Families had barely recovered from these shocks when the Somali government declared yet another drought emergency in November 2025.
