By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
Somalia,7 April 2027 The World Food Programme said Thursday aid deliveries in Somalia are getting harder and costlier due to drought, funding gaps and global supply disruptions.
The remarks were made during a joint press conference in Mogadishu attended by Somali Disaster Management Agency (SODMA) Commissioner Mahmoud Moallim Abdulle, WFP Deputy Executive Director Matthew Hollingworth and WFP Somalia Representative Hamed Nur.
Hollingworth said global conflicts and tensions affecting the Strait of Hormuz had sharply increased fuel prices and disrupted the movement of goods, making humanitarian operations more costly.
“Delivering assistance around the country is much harder and more expensive. Delivering commercial goods around the country is harder and more expensive, and people are suffering because of that,” Hollingworth said.
He added that Somalia was facing multiple crises simultaneously, including severe food insecurity, malnutrition and climate-related shocks.
According to WFP and Somali authorities, nearly 6.5 million people in Somalia are facing food shortages, while close to 2 million children under the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition.
SODMA commissioner said the country was experiencing the combined effects of prolonged drought and heavy rains in some regions, raising fears of flooding similar to the devastating floods seen in 2023.
Related articles
The WFP Representative in Somalia Hameed Nuru "WFP headquarters in Rome is very, very aware of the situation in Somalia"
Loading twitter content...
WFP Somalia Representative Hamed Nur said the agency’s headquarters in Rome had elevated Somalia as a “corporate focus” because of the worsening humanitarian conditions facing the country.
He said senior WFP officials, including Hollingworth, had visited Somalia in recent days to assess the situation and discuss response efforts with Somali authorities.
“We have to prioritize. We have to rethink. We have to think out of the box,” Nur said, referring to the challenges caused by reduced humanitarian funding.
The officials also warned that humanitarian funding shortages were limiting emergency responses at a time when millions of people remain vulnerable to hunger and displacement.
WFP said humanitarian agencies were working closely with Somali authorities to expand emergency assistance and mobilize additional international support for affected communities.