Renewed Violence Exacerbates Severe Hunger Crisis in Somalia's Baidoa Region

Somali families in Baidoa, South West State, are facing renewed violence amidst an already severe hunger crisis. Recent fighting between government forces and fighters loyal to the former regional president has resulted in children being killed and injured, and a health facility damaged. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other humanitarian agencies report that two million children across Somalia are acutely or severely malnourished, making it one of the world's biggest malnutrition crises. In Baidoa alone, 26,000 people are experiencing catastrophic food insecurity, placing them at risk of famine, with the stronger-than-ever El Niño weather pattern expected to deepen the crisis.