The World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the federal government of Somalia Mondat released a report highlighting the frightening consequences of drought in Somalia. Compared to 2017 and 2018, the report states that famine-related deaths increased to at least 43,000 in 2022. The organization also decried the region’s lack of humanitarian aid. According to aid workers, this situation is due to the diversion of funds intended for Somalia to Ukraine.

Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Jan Egeland told The New Humanitarian that “There is no sensible humanitarian group who would say that they are not, at the moment, fully funded for Ukraine. And none of them would say that they have enough funding for, say, Somalia.”

According to data obtained by The New Humanitarian, aid projects in Ukraine received over 80 percent of their requested funding, while projects in Afghanistan, Yemen and Sudan received 38 percent, 27 percent and 20 percent of their requested funding, respectively.

County Director for Action Against Hunger Ahmed Khalif said the situation in Somalia necessitates immediate humanitarian assistance. Aid workers have resorted to using scarce resources to provide urgent intervention strategies and disburse food and water due to a lack of funding. These efforts are far from sufficient, and more than 18 million Somalis are at risk of suffering from malnutrition and food insecurity. Medical treatment in the area has also come to a halt as a result of the rising cost of fuel.