Drought deepens malnutrition and water shortages in Ethiopia’s Somali region

Thursday May 14, 2026

In the town of Afdub, in Ethiopia’s Somali region, residents have gone through multiple missed rainy seasons and now rely on a private water supplier.Ethiopia 2026. ©Roza Bekele/MSF

Humanitarian conditions are worsening fast across Ethiopia’s Somali region and nearby border areas, where drought and displacement are combining to drive up malnutrition and deepen water shortages, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned, saying shrinking aid budgets are making a bad situation even harder to manage.

MSF said pastoralist communities in southern and southeastern Ethiopia, especially in Afder Zone and Shebelle Zone, are contending with severe water scarcity and the collapse of livelihoods after a string of 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.”

Large parts of the region have been hit by overlapping crises since mid-2023, putting local communities under intense strain. A prolonged drought, then sudden flooding and cholera outbreaks, has caused major disruption, including mass displacement of largely pastoralist populations, particularly in Dawa Zone in south-eastern Ethiopia.

As families lose livestock and move in search of water and aid, displacement sites are growing, while established settlements are facing even sharper shortages and a higher risk of disease because people are forced to use unsafe water, MSF said.

Joint assessments carried out with the Somali Region Health Bureau identified serious gaps in nutrition and water services in drought-hit zones, according to MSF, which said health facilities are under pressure and are already seeing more severely malnourished children admitted before the lean season has reached its peak.

“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 said its own operations, including large-scale water trucking and nutrition support in drought-affected areas, are being stretched as needs rise faster than available resources.

Broader food security outlooks from the lates Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) add context, with the agency warning that Ethiopia is facing widespread, prolonged food insecurity driven by conflict, price shocks and weakened safety-net systems.

FEWS NET says Emergency (IPC Phase 4) conditions are likely to continue in parts of the country through September 2026, while Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes remain widespread. It also says interruptions to the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) have left millions without seasonal assistance during the lean period.

The network also points to rising fuel and staple food prices, conflict-driven disruptions and shrinking humanitarian access as major factors undermining food access, especially in pastoral and lowland areas such as the Somali region, where livestock losses have been heavy.

MSF says those structural pressures are now being felt directly in clinics and displacement sites, where malnutrition is increasing and access to clean water is diminishing.

The emergency extends beyond Ethiopia’s frontiers.

Across the border in Somalia, drought has forced mass displacement into Ethiopia, with tens of thousands crossing into Somali region zones in search of help as displacement sites become more crowded 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 group is urging immediate and sustained international funding to avert further decline, warning that without urgent intervention, already overstretched health and water systems in Ethiopia’s Somali region could buckle as the drought cycle drags on.