Mogadishu, Somalia, June 11, 2026 – Health centre closures across Somalia are cutting off life-saving care for millions of pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis. Famine is already looming with drought worsening after lackluster Gu (spring) rains.
Almost two million children are currently acutely malnourished, including nearly 500,000 suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition. At the same time, nearly 50 CARE-supported health and nutrition centres have closed since January 2026 across Puntland, Somaliland, Galmudug, and Lower Juba. In total, around 500 primary healthcare facilities nationwide have been forced to close due to severe funding shortfalls.
Before these closures, CARE was working with local partners to provide essential services to thousands of pregnant women and children every month, including treatment for malnutrition, maternal healthcare, and critical life-saving care.
“In Galmudug, the situation is catastrophic. Funding cuts have forced the closure of 11 health centers, including mobile clinics, while cash support and water programs 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 report a sharp influx of pregnant women arriving at remaining health facilities completely exhausted and dehydrated, many having walked for days without food or water seeking care that is no longer guaranteed.
Families are facing impossible choices. Abdiyo Adan, a mother who previously relied on a CARE-supported health facility, walked several kilometers carrying her child in search of treatment. “I walked for hours with my baby on my back, hoping to get help. When I arrived, I was told the health facility was closed. I felt helpless.It’s like no one cares about us,” Abdiyo said. Her child’s Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) measured 11.3 centimeters, indicating severe acute malnutrition. Children with severe acute malnutrition usually experience severe wasting, stunted growth, and other visible signs of malnutrition. “My child is weak and malnourished. Coming to this health center was our last hope, but now it’s not working.”
The cost of lifesaving nutrition supplies is also rising. A carton of therapeutic milk used to treat severely malnourished children increased from US$139 in 2024 to US$186 in 2025 following major aid funding cuts and has since climbed to US$200 in 2026 as supply chain disruptions linked to the Middle East crisis and rising transport costs continue to affect humanitarian operations. Overall, the price has increased by nearly 44 percent in two years. Nationwide, an estimated 6 million people are facing acute food insecurity, as families exhaust food stocks after years of failed rains and rising prices.
“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, deepening their vulnerability,” says Aydrus Sheikh Daar, Executive Director of WASDA (Wajir South Development Association), a CARE partner in Somalia.
Basic necessities are increasingly out of reach. Water prices have risen by up to 300% in some areas, while global supply disruptions, due 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 over 80% of Somalia’s 3.5 million internally displaced people, are bearing the brunt of the crisis. As families struggle to survive, 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 healthcare. Without urgent action, more families will be pushed deeper into crisis.”
The crisis is being driven by a convergence of conflict, climate shocks, displacement, economic instability and severe funding cuts, which are dismantling critical health and protection systems. An anticipated El Niño event between June and July may worsen food insecurity even further as flash floods threaten to wash away crops and homes.
CARE is working alongside local partners to deliver cash assistance, healthcare, nutrition and protection services where possible. However, without urgent funding, these programs face further reductions at a time when needs are rapidly escalating.
“By the time famine is officially declared, it will already be too late for the children who are dying right now,” Dubow stated, referring to warnings from last month’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report on Somalia.
CARE is calling for an immediate and significant increase in humanitarian funding that is equitable, flexible and of high quality, with a strong focus on channeling resources directly to local and women-led organizations as central actors in the response. All parties must ensure full, safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access to affected populations, and uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and enable principled humanitarian action.
For media inquiries, please email usa.media@care.org or contact Pauline Hurungudo, CARE East and Southern Africa, Regional Communications Advisor, email: Pauline.Hurungudo@care.org