Drought, displacement deepen malnutrition, water shortages among communities in Ethiopia’s Somali region

Humanitarian conditions are deteriorating rapidly across Ethiopia’s Somali region and neighboring border areas, as drought and displacement converge to deepen malnutrition and water shortages, further compounded by shrinking humanitarian aid budgets, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) cautions. MSF says pastoralist communities in southern and southeastern Ethiopia, particularly in Afder Zone and Shebelle Zone, are facing acute water shortages and collapsing livelihoods after repeated failed rainy seasons. “Most people in this community were rearing livestock, that was how we survived,” said Isaq Ibrahim Mohamed from Barey District. “When the rain stopped, we lost our livestock... People walk an hour or more just to fetch water... We see diarrhea and malnutrition.” Several parts region have faced layered and compounding crises since mid-2023, severely testing the resilience of local communities. Prolonged drought, followed by sudden flooding and outbreaks of cholera, has had a devastating impact including mass displacement of predominantly pastoralist communities, particularly in the Dawa Zone of south-eastern Ethiopia. Displacement sites are expanding as families lose livestock and migrate in search of water and assistance, while existing settlements face worsening shortages and rising disease risks due to unsafe water use, according to MSF. Joint assessments with the Somali Region Health Bureau found critical gaps in nutrition and water services across drought-affected zones, MSF cautions, adding that health facilities are overwhelmed, with a rising number of severely malnourished children already being admitted even before the peak of the lean season. “From the areas we assessed... we saw a high number of malnutrition admissions,” said Abdullahi Mohammad Abdi. “What we are seeing on the ground is a reduction of services as partners scale back due to global funding cuts... Water and sanitation programs are the most affected.” MSF adds that its own response, including large-scale water trucking and nutrition support in drought-affected areas, is being stretched thin as needs accelerate faster than available resources. Broader food security projections from the lates Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) provides broader context, warning that Ethiopia is experiencing widespread and sustained food insecurity driven by conflict, price shocks, and weakened safety-net systems. The agency says Emergency (IPC Phase 4) conditions are expected to persist in parts of the country through September 2026, while Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes remain widespread. It also notes that disruptions to the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) have left millions without seasonal support during the lean period. FEWS NET further flags rising fuel and staple food prices, conflict-related disruptions, and declining humanitarian access as key drivers worsening household food access, particularly in pastoral and lowland areas such as the Somali region where livestock losses have been severe. MSF stresses that these structural pressures are now visible in health facilities and displacement sites, where malnutrition cases are rising and clean water access is shrinking. The crisis is not confined to Ethiopia’s borders. Drought conditions across the border in Somalia have driven mass displacement into Ethiopia, with tens of thousands crossing into Somali region zones in search of assistance as displacement sites swell and basic services deteriorate. “What we are witnessing across the displacement sites is a scale of need that exceeds what any single organization can address alone,” said Mohammed Omar. “People are arriving every day, and resources are not keeping pace.” The organization is calling for urgent and sustained international funding to prevent further deterioration, warning that without immediate action, already overstretched health and water systems in Ethiopia’s Somali region risk collapse as the drought cycle continues.