Oxfam: Millions in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia face drought; water up 2000% in worst-hit areas

East Africa’s new drought surge pushes millions toward hunger as water prices soar and livestock die

Friday March 6, 2026

MOGADISHU — A failed rainy season has deepened drought across Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, thrusting nearly 26 million people into extreme hunger, accelerating livestock deaths and sending water prices soaring, Oxfam warned in a report released this week. The crisis arrives less than three years after the Horn of Africa’s longest and most severe drought on record, when five consecutive rainy seasons failed between 2020 and 2023.

Oxfam’s assessment paints a stark picture: dry wells, failed crops, spiraling water costs and exhausted herds are grinding down communities still recovering from the last emergency. The October–December short rains faltered again, with ripple effects stretching from northern Kenya’s arid counties to Ethiopia’s drought-stricken highlands and Somalia’s central regions.

In parts of Somalia, the cost of water is up more than 2,000 percent. Families now pay $1 to $1.50 for a 20-liter jerrycan, compared with just $0.06 a year ago — a price spike that puts clean water out of reach for households that have already lost crops, livestock and income. In Hobyo, north of Mogadishu, residents depend on water trucked from villages 30 kilometers away, where steep transport costs further inflate prices.

“Water trucking is becoming the last line of defence, but for many families who can’t afford even one meal a day for their children, paying for water is simply impossible,” said Fati N’Zi-Hassane, Oxfam’s Africa Director. She said women and girls are bearing the heaviest burden, often walking up to 15 kilometers to collect water in unsafe conditions.

Across the region, deepening scarcity is driving displacement and straining already fragile services. More than 58 million people lack access to clean water, according to the report, increasing the risks of waterborne disease and malnutrition.

Somalia faces the most acute hunger outlook. A recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) alert projects 6.5 million people — nearly one in three — will experience crisis-level food insecurity between February and March 2026. Acute malnutrition has more than doubled, with 1.84 million children under five projected to suffer acute malnutrition next year if conditions do not improve.

Kenya’s arid and semi-arid counties are reporting sharply reduced harvests, while in Ethiopia, the failure of consecutive rainy seasons has cut production by 34 to 54 percent in some areas, according to FEWS NET. Between 24.5 million and 25.9 million people across the three countries are expected to require food assistance by mid-2026.

Livestock — the backbone of pastoralist economies — are dying in large numbers as pastures vanish and water points dry up. In Somalia, an estimated 1.4 million animals died in 2025, with another 2.5 million at risk this year. Northern Kenya has seen milk production drop by more than half as animals succumb to starvation and disease. In Ethiopia, weakened herds are eroding household resilience and market value, making recovery far harder even if rains return.

The crisis is escalating amid a steep humanitarian funding shortfall. While needs have surged, international support has trailed off. In 2021, Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia required $2.65 billion in humanitarian aid, of which just under 61 percent was funded. By 2025, less than one-third of overall requirements were met. In Somalia, the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan received only 29 percent of the requested funding; the 2026 plan has secured just 13.4 percent so far.

“The upcoming dry season will not just be difficult – it could be the final blow pushing communities beyond the point of recovery. Urgent funding is needed now to save lives across the region. Communities here have contributed almost nothing to global climate crisis, yet they are paying the highest price. Families are fighting every day to survive its consequences. We can’t fail them,” N’Zi-Hassane said.

Oxfam and local partners are delivering emergency water, hygiene kits, cash assistance and protection support in hard-to-reach and severely affected communities across Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. But the agency says a larger, faster scale-up is needed to blunt the impacts of a likely parched dry season and to prevent reversible crises from hardening into long-term catastrophe.

What is driving the crisis

• Consecutive failed rains: The short rains failed again after the 2020–2023 drought, compounding water and pasture deficits.
• Soaring water prices: Transport and scarcity have driven 2,000-percent-plus price spikes in some Somali districts.
• Livestock collapse: Mass animal deaths are stripping pastoralists of food, income and savings.
• Harvest failures: FEWS NET reports production losses up to 54 percent in parts of Ethiopia; Kenyan arid zones are reporting poor yields.
• Funding gaps: Aid pipelines are faltering, shrinking the reach of food, water, nutrition and protection programs.

What is needed now

• Close the funding gap: Fully resource humanitarian plans to rapidly expand food assistance, nutrition services and protection, especially for women and children.
• Scale lifesaving water access: Maintain water trucking where essential while investing in durable supplies — rehabilitated boreholes, solar-powered pumps and strategic storage.
• Protect pastoralist livelihoods: Provide emergency fodder and veterinary services, support commercial destocking and safeguard mobility corridors to reduce losses.
• Expand cash assistance: Direct cash transfers help families buy water and food in local markets and preserve dignity amid scarcity.
• Mitigate gender-based risks: Site water points closer to communities, improve lighting and community protection, and expand services for survivors.
• Back early warning and early action: Fund anticipatory measures to pre-position supplies, trigger cash before harvest gaps and cushion the next failed season.
• Invest in climate adaptation: Channel predictable finance to frontline communities for drought-smart agriculture, rangeland restoration and resilient water systems.

From Somalia’s central rangelands to Kenya’s northern counties and Ethiopia’s drought-stressed farmlands, the warning signs are already visible: skeletal cattle, empty wells, soaring market prices and mothers skipping meals so children can eat. Without a surge in funding and a pivot to long-term water and livelihood investments, the region risks sliding back into a preventable emergency — one that communities who have contributed least to climate change are least able to weather.

Drought in the Somali region is killing cattle depended on by local farmers — a stark reminder that safeguarding water and herds is not just about survival today, but about protecting the economic engines that will determine whether families recover tomorrow.

By Ali Musa

Axadle Times international–Monitoring.