Somalia displaced child malnutrition at 50%, MSF says

Doctors Without Borders said half of children it screened in displacement sites in Baidoa, southwest Somalia, were acutely malnourished, warning that drought and funding cuts were worsening a severe humanitarian emergency.

The medical charity, known by its French initials MSF, said on Tuesday that since January it had screened more than 21,000 children under five in Baidoa and found acute malnutrition levels of around 50%. It also said a July survey of 888 households across 14 displacement sites found only 2% of families could afford three meals a day.

Mitchell Sangma, MSF medical coordinator, told a press conference in Nairobi that a severe humanitarian emergency was unfolding in Baidoa. He said admissions of malnourished children had increased since January and that MSF’s facility expanded from 50 beds to 120 in June.

Sangma said 90% of the children arriving at the facility had severe medical complications, and MSF said it had recorded preventable deaths in its hospitals. MSF epidemiologist Chenoa Sankar said re-admissions to MSF-backed programmes were above 60%.

MSF said Somalia’s humanitarian response plan had been cut by 40% in 2026 and was less than one-third funded by July. Sangma said the funding situation had forced MSF and other groups to prioritise life-saving work over prevention.

UN-backed experts estimated in June that almost one-third of Somalis faced food insecurity. The UN said more than half a million Somalis were displaced in the first three months of 2026, with drought causing nine out of 10 displacements.