MOGADISHU, Somalia – Drought conditions are tightening their grip on Somalia’s northern and eastern regions, leaving millions of people in urgent need of assistance, according to the latest report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The latest assessment highlights that failed rains, worsening water scarcity, and depleted pasturelands are driving communities to the brink of survival. Essential services remain limited, further compounding the crisis. OCHA estimates that 2.5 million people have been affected nationwide, with at least 887,000 individuals in 16 districts classified as severely impacted.

Humanitarian partners warn that without an immediate scale-up of aid, vulnerable households face escalating risks of displacement, hunger, and disease outbreaks.

“The situation is deteriorating fast. Families who depend on pastoralism have lost their livestock, and communities are struggling to access safe drinking water,” OCHA noted in its latest report.

Northern and eastern Somalia are historically drought-prone, but this crisis follows a cycle of repeated climate shocks that have eroded people’s resilience. Many communities have yet to recover from previous droughts and floods, leaving them ill-equipped to withstand another prolonged dry spell.

Humanitarian agencies are calling for urgent international support to expand food, water, health, and livelihood interventions. OCHA stressed that addressing the crisis now will help prevent a deeper humanitarian catastrophe in the coming months.

If funding and aid delivery are delayed, experts fear that worsening drought conditions could fuel displacement across regions already burdened by conflict and poverty, pushing Somalia closer to another large-scale humanitarian emergency.