Mogadishu, Somalia – The effects of climate change are pushing Somalia and its neighbors in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region to the brink, with more than 42 million people projected to face acute hunger in 2025, according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2025 Regional Focus.

Somalia remains one of the hardest-hit countries, where recurrent droughts, flash floods, and extreme weather events have undermined fragile food systems. Rural communities, dependent on livestock and rain-fed agriculture, are bearing the brunt of shifting climate patterns that have left pasturelands barren, water sources depleted, and crop yields devastated.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has urged urgent anticipatory action to avert worsening hunger, stressing that emergency response alone is insufficient. Instead, FAO calls for long-term investment in climate-smart and sustainable agriculture to protect livelihoods and strengthen resilience against future shocks.

“All the six IGAD countries cannot continue to swing between crisis and recovery. Building resilience through climate-adaptive farming, water management, and early warning systems is critical,” FAO representatives emphasized in the report.

The warning comes as Somalia grapples with overlapping challenges—rising food insecurity, displacement caused by conflict and climate disasters, and limited infrastructure to absorb shocks. Nearly half of Somalia’s population already depends on humanitarian assistance, and climate-driven disruptions are expected to increase this dependency unless structural solutions are implemented.

Experts argue that scaling up anticipatory measures—such as drought-tolerant seeds, improved irrigation, and livestock health programs—could drastically reduce the impact of future food crises. FAO has also highlighted the need for partnerships with local communities and government institutions to ensure sustainability of interventions.

The IGAD region, spanning Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda, continues to experience the dual pressures of climate volatility and economic fragility. With Somalia at the heart of this crisis, the international community faces growing pressure to act decisively before another devastating hunger season sets in.