Elwak, Jubbaland – A severe drought is tightening its grip on Elwak in Somalia’s Jubbaland State, leaving more than 12,000 people in urgent need of lifesaving assistance. Local officials are sounding the alarm, warning that without swift intervention, a preventable humanitarian catastrophe could unfold.

Jubbaland’s Deputy Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Mohamed Osman Jama, said the situation is deteriorating by the day as families struggle to survive on dwindling food and water supplies. Wells are drying up, livestock — the backbone of rural livelihoods — are collapsing, and displacement is rising as communities move in search of relief.

The crisis is not an isolated shock but part of a broader climate-driven pattern. Residents who had barely recovered from previous drought cycles are once again facing the grim reality of parched land and empty reserves. Aid agencies operating in the region report that needs are escalating faster than resources can be mobilized.

The deputy minister urged humanitarian partners to provide urgent support across multiple sectors — including food, water, shelter, education, and healthcare — and pledged his ministry’s full cooperation to ensure assistance reaches the most vulnerable. However, aid organizations warn that response efforts are already stretched thin as Somalia confronts concurrent challenges across several regions.

Children are among the hardest hit. Schools are seeing reduced attendance as students join long treks in search of water, while health workers report rising cases of malnutrition and respiratory illness linked to dry, dusty conditions.

Elwak’s worsening drought mirrors the wider climate crisis unfolding across the Horn of Africa, where temperature rises and shifting rainfall patterns are turning once-predictable seasons into recurring disasters. Without long-term investment in water infrastructure, sustainable agriculture, and climate adaptation, communities like Elwak will continue to teeter on the edge of survival.

For now, hope rests on the speed and scale of the humanitarian response — before Elwak’s warnings turn into tragedy.