UN News Today 15 May 2026 |

Somalia at ‘real risk of famine’ as Middle East war fallout continues

At least six million people in Somalia are going for days without enough food, with a real risk of famine, UN aid teams warned on Friday.

In an alert, they said that nearly two million were young children “at high risk of illness or death”.

Somalia’s rapidly intensifying hunger emergency is worsening faster than expected, driven by severe drought combined with flash-flooding, insecurity, extremely limited humanitarian assistance – and the ripple effects of conflict in the Middle East and supply disruptions in the vital Strait of Hormuz.

With more, here’s UN Children’ Fund spokesperson Ricardo Pires:

“We depend a lot, obviously, on ready-to-use therapeutic feeding to treat malnourished children and with this projection that was just mentioned, this is critical, it’s a matter of life or death for them. And the cost of air freight has increased significantly since the Middle East crisis to a point that it is of grave concern for us.” 

Disease levels are increasing alongside malnutrition, but healthcare is no longer available or stretched too thin by supply chain delays originating in the Middle East. 

In 2022, famine in Somalia was only averted through massively scaled-up and sustained international support, after one of the longest droughts on record.

Sudan: 825,000 young children face near-starvation: UNICEF

A hunger crisis is also impacting Sudan, where agencies warn that more than 800,000 under-five-year-olds face near-starvation conditions, amid ongoing war.

The problem is that “hunger is not only widespread, but it is deepening”, according to the UN World Food Programme, WFP.

The agency pointed to ongoing mass displacement caused by the conflict between Sudan’s rival militaries, which has exhausted people’s ability to feed themselves and any coping mechanisms they had.

Humanitarians also continue to be attacked, said WFP’s Ross Smith:

“We are ready to be more. However, we can’t do it alone. Reality is stark, funding is far below what is required for access to the most vulnerable must be improved. And for that, the fighting must stop.”

Nearly 19.5 million people now face crisis levels of hunger in Sudan, with multiple areas at risk of famine in the coming months.

The UN and humanitarian partners continue to help people in need across Sudan.

These include nearly 88,000 people in South Kordofan state – including South Sudanese refugees, displaced people and host communities – who have received water and sanitation support.

UN vehicle hit by drone strikes while delivering aid

To Ukraine, where in addition to continuing large-scale attacks by Russia in the capital and in western and central areas, a UN humanitarian convoy has come under fire – twice.

One strike in Kharkiv injured many civilians who had been going to work on Thursday; it also damaged homes and a shelter for displaced people.

The UN convoy targeted twice had been delivering essential support to people in Kherson, with the help of Ukrainian authorities. 

The first drone strike hit as the aid convoy entered Ostriv, an area that has not received assistance for months; the second drone strike happened while the aid team was distributing relief items, badly damaging a clearly marked UN vehicle.

“What it means is that humanitarians are not safe, as well as many Ukrainians,” although the essential work of providing assistance must continue, insisted Dr. Jarno Habicht, from the UN World Health Organization:

“Every fifth attack is against ambulances and medical transport. So those who are going to save others are actually putting their lives in risk every day.”

Since the full-scale Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, 239 healthworkers have been killed and 991 injured.

Daniel Johnson, UN News