Atlanta, Georgia, May 14, 2026 – Acutely malnourished children in Somalia are already experiencing the life-threatening impact of an advancing global food crisis.
Conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have forced vital humanitarian aid supplies to be rerouted, driving up costs and causing severe delays.
In Somalia, the cost of importing 4,500kg of peanut-based therapeutic food to treat severe acute malnutrition among children under five has more than tripled in the past two months.
Instead of each carton costing $55 via the Gulf, being forced to find an alternative emergency supplier has increased the cost to $200 per carton. This treatment program designed for 300 children will now support just 83 children with the most severe cases. Children who miss out on treatment face life-threatening malnutrition.
One in three people in Somalia are facing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above), according to the latest IPC analysis. Almost 2 million people are facing large food shortages and are classified in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). This is an increase of more than half a million people since the initial projection, reflecting a rapidly worsening situation. Nearly 1.9 million children are expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition in 2026.
“This crisis is stealing choices from us and chances from children. Every delay, every empty shelf, means a child we cannot reach in time. Parents are watching their children grow weaker, knowing help exists but cannot arrive. When life‑saving treatment doesn’t come, hunger becomes a death sentence and that should never be the reality for a child,” said CARE Somalia Country Director Ummy Dubow.
Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most exposed regions to the consequences of this war. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that if fertilizer availability falls by just 10%, regional food inflation could increase by 8%. This would mean many more people would struggle to afford staple food items.
Across Malawi, more than four million people, almost a quarter of the population, are currently experiencing crisis levels of acute food insecurity. Around 35% of Malawi’s urea imports and 23% of fertilizer imports rely on the Strait of Hormuz. Fuel prices have already increased by around 35%.
When global crises drive up food and fuel prices, it is often women who stretch shrinking household budgets, sell assets and cut their own consumption. For many women and girls in Malawi, these shocks are increasing the risk of hunger, school dropouts and harmful coping mechanisms, such as early marriage.
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