The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) on Tuesday warned that a record-breaking dry season has left 20 to 25 million people across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya in urgent need of assistance.
The FEWSNET’s FEWS NET in a report said rainfall during the October-to-December fell to some of the lowest levels on record which experts attributed the extreme conditions to a combination of La Niña, a historic negative Indian Ocean Dipole, and persistent heat that has depleted soil moisture and evaporated surface water.
The dry conditions have devastated crop and livestock production, said the report, noting that in Somalia’s Bay and Bakool regions, non-irrigated harvests are projected at less than 10 percent from normal levels.
It said rain-fed crops in Ethiopia’s Somali region have largely failed, as seeds either did not germinate or withered soon after planting, leaving pastoralist communities to strain.
In Somalia’s Addun Pastoral Livelihood Zone, depleted browse has already forced livestock to consume plastic and paper as early deaths of breeding females have been reported, while in Kenya, many animals have stopped lactating.
According to the report, economic pressures are mounting as households are engaging in “distress sales” of weakened livestock, causing prices to fall.
“Goat prices in parts of Kenya declined by up to 12 percent in November. Conversely, food and water costs have risen sharply, with sorghum prices in Baidoa, Somalia, up 25 percent and water trucking in some areas reaching six times the normal rate,” the report noted.
FEWS NET warned that the March-to-May (MAM) 2026 rainy season will be critical. Should rainfall fall below average, the region could face extreme malnutrition and hunger-related mortality.
The report further said that displacement is rising as rural families migrate to urban centres and IDP camps seeking food and work.
In some Somali settlements, global acute malnutrition rates have already reached 25 percent.
FEWS NET cautioned that without a scale-up in food, water, and nutrition assistance, “Crisis and worse outcomes will become increasingly widespread.”
MG/abj/APA