Children in Somalia are facing a catastrophic hunger crisis after four consecutive failed rainy seasons completely exhausted food reserves in several regions with the next few months critical to prevent avoidable deaths, Save the Children said.

A new assessment of needs in six regions by Save the Children found nine out of 10 homes - or 93% of households in Benadir (Mogadishu) and 90% in Galgadud (Central Somalia) - are experiencing "poor" food consumption. This indicates near-total exhaustion of reserves and children facing imminent risk of severe malnutrition. Only 2% of families have an adequate diet.

The lack of food is impacting education with more than 1,100 children dropping out of school in Gedo region, Southern Somalia, and nearly half of households in Galgadud region withdrawing children from education due to migration and to look for food, according to the assessment.

Save the Children teams found that families are already adopting extreme coping mechanisms. In Gedi region, all households assessed were found to be skipping meals or reducing portions. In the Benadir, Southern Somalia, and Hiiran regions in the central part of the country, 87% and 92% of families respectively were skipping meals, reducing portions, and selling livestock and tools which ends supplies of meat and milk.