Before the drought, Isack Ibrahim Maxamed’s life followed a simple arithmetic: a herd of 40 camels equaled milk for his household, a dowry when a son married, and money to fall back on when someone in the family fell ill. For Isack and his 13 children, although it was not wealth in the way a city dweller might measure it, it was enough.

For Rukia Sayid Mukhtar, a mother of 13 children, the toll has been heavy. After losing her husband, she became the sole provider for her family. Since then, drought and flooding have repeatedly disrupted her efforts to grow food and earn an income.

The sun has not yet risen over the Gulf of Aden when Mohamud Mahad Yusuf pushes his boat into the calm waters of Xaabo District. Every morning begins with uncertainty. The sea can be either generous or unforgiving, and each trip is a gamble against changing weather, dwindling catches, and the hope of earning enough to provide for his family.

The United Kingdom has allocated £2.5 million in additional funding through RESTORE, a project restoring riverine ecosystems and water management along the Shabelle to help vulnerable communities in Somalia prepare for anticipated El Niño-related flooding during the October–December 2026 Deyr rainy season.

Millions of people across Somalia continue to face high levels of hunger while acute malnutrition among children is set to worsen over the coming months when heavy flooding associated with the anticipated El Niño is expected to worsen the situation during October to December 2026, the Federal Government of Somalia and the United Nations (UN) warned today.

JOWHAR – The Federal Government of Somalia, the United Nations and development partners have welcomed the start of restoration works on the Sabuun Barrage in Hirshabelle State under the auspices of the Jowhar Offstream Storage Programme (JOSP), marking a major step towards strengthening water security, irrigation and climate resilience in the Shabelle Basin.

In Puntland, where drought has repeatedly strained household food supplies and left many families dependent on the market for even the most basic vegetables, a small plot of land at Al-Amal School in Garowe is quietly proving that things can be grown differently and that lessons travel fastest when passed from a mother to a child.

A significant milestone for one of Somalia’s most important multisectoral flood and drought projects will be reached on 09 September. That is when the Government of Somalia, with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and its partners begins the first phase of restoration works at the Sabuun Barrage site in Hirshabelle state.

A strengthening El Niño weather condition and an exceptionally strong wet-season forecast are raising the risk of significant flooding across Somalia during the October-December (Deyr) 2026 season, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has warned.

In Somaliland's eastern Sanaag region, livestock represent livelihood, food, and financial security for pastoral families. For 42-year-old Abdisalan Salah, the drought sweeping across the country since 2025 has put all three at risk.

"My family consists of eight people, and our livelihood depends entirely on livestock," Abdisalan says.

As the world marks International Youth Day 2026 under the theme “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations”, young people in Somalia are demonstrating how leadership, participation and opportunity helps them transition from beneficiaries of development into active partners who play a meaningful role towards building peaceful, resilient and sustainable communities.

The Jowhar Offstream Storage Programme (JOSP) successfully convened the Water and Irrigation Governance Forum, bringing together Federal Government institutions, Federal Member States, United Nations agencies, development partners, academia, civil society organizations, researchers, and community representatives to review progress, highlight key governance achievements, and agree on priorities for the next phase of water and irrigation governance in Somalia.

The Food and Agriculture Organization in Somalia has warned that the country should brace itself for the possibility of a continued dry period until October, followed by an elevated risk of extensive flooding during the October–December Deyr season associated with a likely El Niño event.

As Somalia continues efforts to strengthen peace, resilience, and inclusive development, investing in young people remains essential. In fragile and conflict-affected contexts, youth are not only among the most affected by unemployment, exclusion, and limited opportunities, they are also powerful agents of peacebuilding, innovation, and community transformation. 

Sahro Mohamed Osman, 29, pushes a heavy wheelbarrow laden with earth. For three months, she has worked six hours a day at her village’s water catchment, helping expand water access for her community while earning an income to support her family.

“My happiest days are when I am working at the job site,” she says. “Because I am working to provide for my family.”

For Abdullahi Ali Abdi Aden, farming is the only life he knows. At 45, Abdullahi supports a household of twelve in Suuskey village, near Baidoa in Somalia’s Southwest state. Each season, he plants maize, wheat, and beans, relying on rainfall to grow his crops. What the land produces feeds his family. When the rains fail, life begins to unravel.

It’s not uncommon for beekeeper Osman Hasan Mohamed – and his teenaged daughter Aisha -- to be stung as many 20 to 30 times a day as they tend to their hives near the Somali town of Baidoa.

That is tough in a part of Somalia where pain killers are not readily available.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned today of a rapidly intensifying hunger emergency in Somalia that is pushing 6 million people – 31 percent of the population – into critical levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) between April and June 2026. This now includes one of the worst malnutrition crises in the world impacting approximately 1.9 million children, of whom 493,000 face severe acute malnutrition, who are 12 times at higher risk of death compared to well-nourished children.

Every morning, Hawo Mohamed Mukhtar wakes to the same question: will her five children eat today?
Across Somalia, recurrent drought has been devastating rural livelihoods. Farming and pastoral communities see their water sources shrink, livestock perish, and food production collapse. Suuskey village is near Baidoa in Southwest state. A recent drought there has hit already vulnerable households.

Tuna has the potential to play a critically important role in food security and economic development, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the government have said. “Tuna represents more than just a fish; it serves as an essential source of income, nutrition, and economic potential for coastal populations.” FAO Fisheries Officer Abdikariim Mogeh said.