Half of Displaced Children in Southwest Somalia Acutely Malnourished

A severe malnutrition crisis is unfolding in displacement sites across southwest Somalia, with a new survey revealing that half of all children screened are acutely malnourished and one in four is severely malnourished. The findings, released on August 11, 2026, by the medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), highlight a rapidly deteriorating situation compounded by drought, displacement, and a dramatic reduction in international funding.

The data comes from a July survey conducted by MSF and Somalia's Ministry of Health across 888 households in 14 displacement sites in Baidoa, the capital of SouthWest state. The results are consistent with MSF's ongoing surveillance, which has found acute malnutrition levels of approximately 50 percent among the more than 21,000 children under five screened in Baidoa since the beginning of the year. The survey also found that one-third of families are surviving on just one meal a day, while only two percent can afford three meals.

"This is not an understatement when I say that a severe humanitarian emergency is unfolding right now in Baidoa," said Mitchell Sangma, MSF's health adviser, during a press briefing in...