Sunday June 14, 2026
Mogadishu (HOL) — The closure of hundreds of health facilities across Somalia is cutting off lifesaving care for pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children as drought, rising prices and severe funding shortages deepen the country’s humanitarian crisis, CARE warned on Thursday.
Nearly 2 million children in Somalia are acutely malnourished, including almost 500,000 suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition, the aid agency said.
Before the closures, CARE and local partners were providing essential services to thousands of pregnant women and children each month, including malnutrition treatment, maternal health care and other critical support.
“In Galmudug, the situation is catastrophic. Funding cuts have forced the closure of 11 health centres, including mobile clinics, while cash support and water programmes have stopped,” said Abdikadir Ore, Humanitarian Coordinator, CARE Somalia. “Families are now left without healthcare, clean water, or even food. Mothers are watching their children grow weaker, pregnant women have nowhere to go, and preventable diseases like cholera, measles, and diphtheria are spreading. People have simply run out of options. This is not a slow-moving crisis, it is a collapse.”
In Kismayo, CARE nurses and partners reported a sharp rise in pregnant women arriving at remaining health facilities exhausted and dehydrated after walking for days without food or water in search of care.
Families are being forced into impossible choices, the agency said.
Abdiyo Adan, a mother who previously relied on a CARE-supported health facility, said she walked for hours carrying her baby in search of treatment, only to find the facility closed.
“I walked for hours with my baby on my back, hoping to get help,” she said. “When I arrived, I was told the health facility was closed. I felt helpless, it’s like no one cares about us.”
CARE said her child’s mid-upper arm circumference measured 11.3 centimeters, indicating severe acute malnutrition.
“My child is weak and malnourished,” Abdiyo said. “Coming to this health center was our last hope, but now it’s not working.”
The agency said the cost of lifesaving nutrition supplies is also rising. A carton of therapeutic milk used to treat severely malnourished children increased from $139 in 2024 to $186 in 2025 after major aid funding cuts, and has since climbed to $200 in 2026 because of supply chain disruptions and rising transport costs.
CARE said the price has risen by nearly 44% in two years.
Across Somalia, an estimated 6 million people are facing acute food insecurity as families exhaust food stocks after years of failed rains, high prices and worsening drought conditions following weak Gu rains.
“The declining effectiveness and limited circulation of the Somali shilling are further undermining the ability of poor households to access markets and meet their basic needs,” said Aydrus Sheikh Daar, executive director of WASDA, a CARE partner in Somalia.
Basic necessities are increasingly out of reach, CARE said. Water prices have risen by up to 300% in some areas, while global supply disruptions linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have driven up the cost of food, fuel and humanitarian supplies.
Women and children, who make up more than 80% of Somalia’s 3.5 million internally displaced people, are bearing the brunt of the crisis. CARE said women are skipping meals and girls are increasingly at risk of being pulled out of school and forced into early marriage.
“The hunger crisis unfolding in Somalia is forcing impossible choices on families,” said CARE Somalia Country Director Ummy Dubow. “It is about mothers deciding which child will eat today and women walking long distances in search of water without access to health care.”
The crisis is being driven by conflict, climate shocks, displacement, economic instability and severe funding cuts, CARE said. The agency warned that an anticipated El Niño event between June and July could worsen food insecurity further if flash floods destroy crops and homes.
CARE said it is working with local partners to deliver cash assistance, health care, nutrition and protection services where possible, but warned that programs face further cuts without urgent funding.
“By the time famine is officially declared, it will already be too late for the children who are dying right now,” Dubow said.
CARE called for an immediate and significant increase in humanitarian funding, with resources directed to local and women-led organizations. It also urged all parties to ensure safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access and to protect civilians under international humanitarian law.
