Middle East Conflict Disrupts Aid to Starving Somali Children, UNICEF Reports

UNICEF officials say the war in Iran has severely complicated relief efforts in Somalia, where nearly 6.5 million people face severe hunger. Transport costs for critical supplies have increased by up to 60%, while more than 400 health facilities have closed due to funding cuts.

DOLLOW, Somalia — In a packed refugee camp in southern Somalia, the wails of hungry children offer a glimmer of hope — because the most severely malnourished youngsters lack the strength to make any sound at all.

Mothers at the Ladan displacement camp in Dollow focus solely on keeping their families alive, unconcerned with distant conflicts or aid logistics. These families escaped devastating drought conditions that have struck the Horn of Africa following four consecutive seasons without adequate rainfall.

With their farms destroyed and animals dead, refugees arrive at the camp carrying little beyond their children.

Relief workers at Ladan report that the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict — occurring more than 3,000 kilometers away — has complicated their operations, disrupting supply chains and causing fuel prices to skyrocket.

According to UNICEF, approximately $15.7 million in critical supplies including therapeutic nutrition, vaccines, and protective bed nets are currently in shipment or being prepared for Somalia. However, these deliveries now face significant uncertainty.

The United Nations agency reports that transportation expenses may increase between 30% and 60%, potentially doubling on certain routes, while shipping delays from rerouting and bottlenecks become increasingly probable.

During her Wednesday visit to Dollow, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell described the Iranian conflict as creating a “shock to the system” for the organization’s Somali operations.

“It means that we can’t get supplies in as easily, and that fuel costs are really high,” she stated. “It’s another problem that we have to try to deal with, and it means that more and more children will suffer.”

Simultaneously, over 400 medical and nutrition centers have shuttered across Somalia in the past year, primarily due to reduced U.S. funding, leaving numerous communities without essential services. Relief organizations caution that additional closures may occur.

These challenges have intensified conditions at Ladan, where malnutrition particularly threatens the youngest residents.

“What we’re seeing is that children are really on the edge already,” Russell observed.

From Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, government officials announced last month that approximately 6.5 million citizens — from a total population exceeding 20 million — confront serious food insecurity as drought conditions worsen and ongoing violence plus international aid reductions deepen the national emergency.

These humanitarian challenges represent only part of the crisis as Somalia’s government continues its prolonged battle against al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda-affiliated militant organization, working to regain territory from these extremist forces.

Recent findings from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, an international hunger monitoring organization, project that 1.84 million Somali children under age 5 will experience acute malnutrition during 2026.

At Ladan, situated along the town’s dusty perimeter, endless rows of temporary shelters extend beneath the unforgiving sun — fragile constructions of plastic sheeting and tattered cloth secured with sticks and thorny branches. Approximately 4,500 families call this camp home.

“We just want our children to survive,” explained Shamso Nur Hussein, a 20-year-old widow caring for three children. She abandoned their village in the Bakool region after losing all livestock.

Her makeshift cooking area at the camp — consisting of three stones and ash — remained cold, showing no evidence of recent use.

“Since morning we have only had black tea,” she informed The Associated Press during the camp visit.

At Dollow’s medical facility, mothers crowded together on narrow beds cradling weak children, some too exhausted to cry while others produced faint sounds.

Liban Roble, who coordinates nutrition programs, explained that the hospital previously treated mainly “moderate cases.”

“Now we are receiving children in extremely critical condition — severely malnourished, weak, and in some cases almost skeletal,” he reported.

Roble indicated the hospital maintains sufficient supplies to treat malnourished patients “until mid-April or the end of April.”

“If new stock doesn’t arrive, more children will deteriorate and potentially die,” he warned.

At Ladan’s nutrition facility, medical staff measured children and distributed peanut-based therapeutic paste, placing it directly into the youngsters’ mouths.

This treatment serves as a crucial lifeline, helping prevent rapid deterioration among malnourished children, according to nurse Abdimajid Adan Hussein.

“Their weakened bodies make them vulnerable to pneumonia, diarrhea and other illnesses,” Hussein explained.

Local leaders report that current assistance falls well below needs.

“We used to receive assistance from humanitarian agencies, but that stopped in September 2025,” stated Abdifatah Mohamed Osman, Ladan’s deputy chairman. “Now the little support we get is mainly therapeutic food for malnourished children.”