As of May 2026, around six million people in Somalia (the easternmost country in Africa, long affected by drought and civil conflict) are experiencing acute hunger, with over 1.9 million in emergency conditions, according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis. The crisis is being driven by successive failed rainy seasons, ongoing insecurity from armed groups including Al-Shabaab, and a sharp spike in fuel and food import prices linked to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly a fifth of the world's crude oil normally flows. Humanitarian response has been severely hampered by a funding shortfall, with only about 20 percent of the required $1.42 billion secured, forcing the closure of more than 200 health and nutrition centres and prompting warnings that parts of southern Somalia could officially tip into famine as soon as June 2026.