MOGADISHU, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) on Friday warned of catastrophic funding shortfalls in Somalia, with 4.4 million people facing crisis-level or worse food insecurity.
WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response Ross Smith said the humanitarian situation in Somalia is extremely worrying.
"I am here today to issue an alert: the world must pay attention to the millions of vulnerable women, men, and children suffering in Somalia. And sadly, we have been down this road before," Smith said in a statement.
He warned that the WFP's life-saving emergency food and nutrition assistance in Somalia is at imminent risk of grinding to a halt, with the UN agency's resources expected to be depleted within weeks without urgent replenishment.
"The lack of resources has meant that we have been forced to repeatedly reduce the vital assistance we are able to provide. We had no choice but to cut our food and nutrition assistance by more than half in 2025 due to funding shortfalls," Smith added.
The warning follows the declaration of a national drought emergency by the Somali government, triggered by severe water shortages, crop and livestock losses, and large-scale displacement, conditions reminiscent of the 2022 crisis, when famine was narrowly averted thanks to large-scale international support.
Somalia is facing one of the most complex hunger crises in recent years, driven by two consecutive failed rainy seasons, conflict, and a sharp decline in humanitarian funding, according to the UN.
"Without immediate emergency food support, conditions will worsen quickly. We are at the cusp of a decisive moment; without urgent action, we may be unable to reach the most vulnerable in time, most of them women and children," Smith said.
WFP said it currently faces a severe funding shortfall that has forced it to reduce the number of people receiving emergency food assistance from 2.2 million in early 2025 to just over 600,000.
The agency said it urgently requires 95 million U.S. dollars to continue supporting the most food-insecure people in Somalia between March and August, cautioning that without immediate funding, it will be forced to halt humanitarian assistance by April.
