BAIDOA — More than 500,000 people have been displaced in Somalia so far this year, with over 90 percent of them forced from their homes by drought. Only 14 percent of the funds requested for humanitarian response in Somalia have been received this year, according to OCHA's Financial Tracking Service.

Displaced families arriving at camps in Baidoa and Dollow are not receiving humanitarian relief assistance. Many have walked for days, eating wild plants along the road, and reach the camps malnourished and exhausted, carrying children too weak to walk. One man displaced from Bakool walked more than 100 kilometers to reach Baidoa.

The September Deyr rains failed, destroying livelihoods, killing livestock, and forcing another year of harvest failure. The April to June rainy season, known as Gu, has begun, offering limited relief for families who have lost their herds and farms after years of successive droughts. According to UN OCHA's Somalia Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2026, displaced families face the highest risk of starvation. Before this year, 3.3 million Somalis were already uprooted.

The United States did not include Somalia in its $2 billion global humanitarian aid pledge for this year, according to officials. The exclusion was due to allegations of aid diversion, corruption, and the destruction of a US-funded World Food Programme warehouse in Somalia, officials said.

Fatima, 40, has fled her home five times — three times because of conflict and twice because of drought. Each time, she left behind land, livestock, and small personal possessions. "This is the fifth time I have fled," Fatima said. "I am still facing the drought and I have nothing to feed my family."

A displaced person described the absence of aid in the camps. "Humanitarian services are one of the only things we can rely on, but it is completely gone," the person said.