Africa

Somalia’s children hit hard by aid cuts, aid groups warn

By NowinAfrica Editorial Board • August 23, 2026 • Africa

Children and families gathered in a dusty displacement camp or aid distribution site in Somalia, with simple shelters in the background. — AMISOM Public Information / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Somalia’s children are bearing the brunt of a sharp reduction in humanitarian assistance, with aid cuts threatening to deepen an already severe crisis for some of the country’s most vulnerable young people, according to Arab News PK.

Women carrying children queue at an outdoor nutrition feeding station in a dusty displacement camp.

Somalia has long depended on international humanitarian support to cope with overlapping emergencies, including recurring drought, armed conflict, mass displacement and chronic food insecurity. For decades, United Nations agencies, international non-governmental organisations and bilateral donors have provided the bulk of emergency food, health care, water and education services in much of the country, where state capacity remains weak and large parts of the population live in poverty.

The current round of cuts comes as humanitarian needs across Somalia remain exceptionally high. The country continues to grapple with the aftermath of prolonged drought, periodic flooding and the persistent insurgency of Al-Shabaab, which has restricted access in several regions. Millions of Somalis remain internally displaced, and children have consistently made up a disproportionate share of those affected by malnutrition and disease outbreaks.

International donors have scaled back funding to several aid programmes in recent months, a shift that follows reductions in overall overseas development assistance budgets in several major Western capitals. According to Arab News PK, the impact on children has been immediate, with disrupted nutrition programmes, school feeding initiatives and primary health services among the areas most affected.

Humanitarian organisations have warned that any sustained reduction in funding risks reversing gains made in child survival and basic education over the past decade, particularly in rural and conflict-affected districts where alternatives are scarce. With the next lean season approaching, aid workers say the consequences for an entire generation of Somali children could be severe if current funding trends continue.