Somalia is gripped by a severe humanitarian crisis driven by drought, conflict, and critical funding shortages creating immense hardships, particularly for women and girls.
Nearly one in four Somalis – around 4.6 million people – are experiencing acute food insecurity. Women, young children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers across the country are bearing the heaviest burden of this crisis: pregnant women sacrificing their own nutrition; mothers helplessly watching their children waste away from acute malnutrition; and young girls being pulled from school or married off to help families survive.
Water, essential for life, is scarce for more than half of the population. Funding shortfalls have crippled water and sanitation programmes, leaving communities highly susceptible to deadly disease outbreaks, including cholera. In central and northern regions of the country drought has set in.
Approximately 3.5 million people are displaced across Somalia, many living in makeshift shelters in overcrowded camps with minimal or no access to basic services. An estimated 80 percent of those displaced are women and girls. Conditions have fueled an increase in gender-based violence, exploitation and abuse. In 2025, an estimated 2.7 million women and girls are at risk of gender-based violence, yet over 70 percent of rural areas lack the necessary services to prevent and respond to these threats.
The healthcare system in Somalia, already fragile, has been further strained by funding reductions since the beginning of the year. Around 5.4 million people, including 1.3 million pregnant and breastfeeding women, are in urgent need of health services. Only 30 percent of public health facilities are fully functional, and capable of providing emergency obstetric care, reflected in high maternal mortality. Around 1 in 20 women die during pregnancy, childbirth, or its aftermath from causes that are largely preventable with access to skilled care.
UNFPA continues to provide essential reproductive health and protection services, but funding is inadequate to meet the overwhelming needs. Sustained, long-term investment and strategic support are critically needed across Somalia to expand vital health services, especially in remote and hard-to-reach areas.
