In Dhusamareb, the capital of Galmudug state in central Somalia, a 61-year-old herder Abdulkadir Mohamed Farah watches the horizon with growing dread. In less than a year, he lost 90 percent of his goats and more than two-thirds of his camels.

“The livestock, both camels and goats, have been lost. Now we fear that people may follow,” he said. “The animals are dying. They have nothing to eat. I had 500 goats, only 50 remain. I had 70 camels, 20 are left.”

For pastoralist communities, livestock represent more than income — they signify stability, food security and cultural identity. Their loss often signals the collapse of an entire way of life.

Near Dangorayo in the northern Nugal region in Somalia, Maymun Ali Mohamed, 19, recently arrived at a settlement for internally displaced persons after her animals perished.

“When I saw the animals dying, I decided to move and stay with relatives. I told myself my young children must not die,” Mohamed said.

Their stories reflect a wider pattern across Somalia, where prolonged drought following two consecutive failed rainy seasons has pushed an estimated 6.5 million people into acute food insecurity, humanitarian agencies report.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, citing the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report, nearly one-third of Somalia’s population is expected to face crisis levels of hunger or worse by March — an increase of 1.7 million people since January 2026.

In a report released by end of February, about 2 million people are already experiencing severe hunger, while more than 1.8 million children under five are projected to suffer acute malnutrition in 2026, nearly half a million of them severely.

“The situation has really been worsening over the past months. It is now reaching catastrophic proportions,” Anukha Combernous, head of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Somalia, told China Daily in an interview.

She said the crisis, which initially intensified in northern regions, has now spread nationwide, particularly affecting rural communities dependent on pastoralism — a sector that supports more than 60 percent of the population.

As livestock die in large numbers and water sources dry up, rising malnutrition is placing immense strain on a health system weakened by decades of conflict.

“We’re talking about no food, no water, herds of goats, sheep and camels that are dying, rising malnutrition levels, especially among children under five,” Combernous said. “It is extremely difficult for the current health infrastructure to cope with the rising needs.”

According to Combernous, last year’s humanitarian response plan for Somalia was funded at only 29 percent, forcing the closure of more than 600 health facilities. The funding shortfall has restricted access to nutrition services, healthcare and clean water even as needs surge.

She said active hostilities in parts of the country continue to restrict humanitarian access and hamper people’s ability to move in search of water, grazing land or medical services.

“Funding is insufficient. It has been decreasing over the past years and more significantly also in 2025,” Combernous said. Without urgent mobilization, she warned, the consequences could be fatal. “In brief, people will die.” She emphasized that emergency relief must be paired with longer-term investment to rebuild essential services and strengthen local systems.

“Over the last decades, there’s been a trend of dependency on aid. What we need to work on altogether is to find ways of making these systems more sustainable, more autonomous,” she said, while also calling for increased funding from international partners.

This comes as China has stepped up support for Somalia’s drought response by donating humanitarian aid totaling $4.1 million, including $2 million in cash aid and emergency food supplies worth $2.1 million on March 8, aimed at helping millions of people facing severe food insecurity in the country.

Wang Yu, Chinese ambassador to Somalia, said China remains committed to supporting Somalia during times of crisis.

Continued support

He reaffirmed China’s continued support to the Somali people, particularly in addressing drought and strengthening cooperation in humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness.

“China and Africa share weal and woe in fighting natural disasters and epidemics together. As a good friend and strategic partner of Somalia, China will continue to support Somalia’s disaster relief efforts. China will never be absent when Somalia is in need,” Wang said at a donation ceremony in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on March 8.

As Somalia confronts repeated climate shocks amid decades of insecurity, Farah’s shrinking herd and Mohamed’s displacement underscore the human toll behind the statistics — and the urgency of a response that reaches communities before the next failed rains deepen the crisis further.

Combernous emphasized that the appeal for more humanitarian assistance is not directed at any specific country but at the broader international community.

“It’s essential for all donors, regardless of where they’re from, to be mobilized at this point,” she said. “All we need is for donors to increase the capacity of those who are already present to provide a life-saving response.”

Beyond emergency aid, she stressed the importance of investing in sustainable systems, including rebuilding essential services and strengthening local partnerships.

“There is a need to call attention to what is happening,” Combernous said. “Repeated drought and flooding, combined with decades of conflict, continue to aggravate the situation.” She added that without renewed rainfall and a significant scale-up of humanitarian assistance, millions risk slipping deeper into emergency levels of hunger.

Somali authorities have warned that the severity of this drought is deeply alarming, noting that climate shocks, displacement and declining humanitarian funding are pushing vulnerable communities beyond their coping capacity.

Mohamud Moallim Abdulle, commissioner of the Somalia Disaster Management Agency, in a statement in late February, said urgent life-saving assistance is essential “to save lives and prevent a collapse of pastoral and farming livelihoods”.

He said funding cuts have forced humanitarian partners to scale back critical food, health and water programs even as needs continue to rise. “We urgently call on international partners, the Somali diaspora, businesses, and civil society to scale up immediate support. Together, through collective action and shared responsibility, we can save lives and protect livelihoods before conditions deteriorate further.”

sharon@chinadailyafrica.com