Somalia is facing a dire malnutrition crisis that has been worsened by prolonged droughts, ongoing conflict, economic instability, and a fragile healthcare system. The Baidoa and Mudug regions, where Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) works, are examples of the crisis unfolding across the country, with thousands of children at immediate risk of severe malnutrition and its life-threatening consequences.
Chronic funding shortfalls have crippled humanitarian efforts, forcing vital nutrition programmes to scale back or close. The looming threat of a La Niña-driven drought in 2025 could push the already vulnerable communities to the brink. MSF is urgently calling on donors and humanitarian organisations to take immediate action to prevent widespread suffering, as the consequences could be catastrophic.
Kalimow Mohamed Nur had no choice but to take a desperate gamble. With his twin sons weak from hunger, their tiny bodies frail from repeated bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea, he borrowed enough money for a single day’s journey—an amount he would take months to earn—and set out on a gruelling trip to Baidoa. The road was long, the heat relentless, but the promise of free medical care at Bay Regional Hospital was his last hope.
