Africa · Severe · since Ongoing
Somalia & the Sahel
Where armed conflict and drought hit the same family twice.
Al-Shabaab insurgency and Sahel armed group violence, layered with climate shocks
9.1M
Somalis affected
Somalia HNRP 2025
~3.8M
Displaced in Somalia
Drought and conflict driven
~800K
Somali refugees
Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen
IPC 3–4
Food security
FSNAU/IPC, Feb 2026
What is happening
9.1 million Somalis are affected by conflict and climate shocks, with around 3.8 million displaced, many in long-term settlements on the edges of cities.
Across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, armed group violence has closed thousands of schools and cut communities off from markets and clinics.
What we don't think about
Drought does not pause for war
Failed rains and armed blockades combine: livestock die, and the roads to the next pasture are controlled by armed groups.
Schools closed by threat
In the central Sahel thousands of schools are shut, not destroyed — teachers simply cannot safely attend.
Urban edges as permanent camps
Displacement sites around Mogadishu and Baidoa are now decades old, with evictions a constant risk.