MSF warns of worsening malnutrition among displaced children in Somalia
The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned of a worsening malnutrition crisis among displaced children in Somalia, as drought continues to drive mass population movements across the Horn of Africa nation.
According to data reported by Africanews, the United Nations has recorded more than 500,000 Somalis being displaced during the first three months of this year alone. Drought was responsible for nine out of ten of those displacements, underscoring how climate stress is reshaping humanitarian needs inside the country.
Somalia has endured recurring cycles of drought, flooding and food insecurity for decades, with rural communities among the hardest hit when rains fail. Pastoral herders have lost livestock, while crop farmers have seen harvests collapse, pushing families toward urban centres and long-established camps for the internally displaced, particularly around the capital Mogadishu.
The country has also lived under the long shadow of conflict involving the al-Shabaab insurgency, which has complicated humanitarian access to large parts of central and southern Somalia. International agencies and non-governmental organisations continue to operate under difficult security conditions, providing food, water and medical care to vulnerable populations.
MSF, which runs therapeutic feeding programmes and health facilities across Somalia, has repeatedly raised the alarm about the nutritional status of children arriving at its clinics. Malnutrition among young children can quickly become life-threatening when compounded by displacement, lack of clean water and limited access to routine health care, the organisation has noted in past appeals.
Humanitarian agencies have called for sustained international attention to the crisis, warning that without continued funding and access, conditions are likely to deteriorate further in the months ahead.
Sources
This report was written from coverage published by the following news organisations. Follow the links for the original reporting.
