Children in Somalia are fighting to survive – with your help, they can

Two in every three children in Somalia have suffered from extreme food poverty in their early childhood – putting their lives at immediate risk from severe malnutrition.

These children have little to eat. Less than 5 per cent are fed nutrient-dense foods. Among children aged 6-23 months, only 1 in 5 are fed eggs, fish, poultry, or meat, and 2 in 3 consume zero vegetables or fruits.

But hunger is just one of the threats facing families. Children are at risk too from cholera and other deadly diseases spread by unsafe water – often the only water they have access to.

UNICEF is providing kits to combat cholera and, in the seven months to August alone, thanks to help from our supporters, we treated over 300,000 children for severe acute malnutrition.

But over a million children under five are still at risk from food shortages. 8 million people are facing water shortages, and 1.2 million people are at risk of cholera infection this year.

Some children have already died. But your support can help save those still courageously struggling to survive. They are among the most vulnerable children in the world. They are surrounded by conflict, instability, disease and flooding.

Your support today can help save them.

A child being treated for malnutrition in a UNICEF-supported clinic
Devastating floods is just one of the problems families in Somalia face

Can we count on you to send life-saving aid to children in Somalia?

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Children are crying in pain from hunger

“My little daughter, at night, she wakes up crying because of hunger”

Haredo, 37, was forced to leave her home in the south of Somalia with her children after drought destroyed all their crops. Now she lives in a displacement camp with thousands of other homeless people. And with her husband unwell, she is struggling to keep her children alive.

“I look sick because I have been doing all I can to fight for the survival of my children,” she said.

Her youngest daughter Ade, just 18 months old, has a fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. Ade is so hungry she is unable to sleep, lying awake and crying in pain. Haredo said she feels like she is watching her child die.

Thanks to UNICEF supporters, Ade, and Haredo’s other children, are now getting essential nutritional support. But millions of families in Somalia still need urgent help if their children are to survive.

Haredo is hopeful her daughter will survive now she is receiving treatment

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How your donation can save children

More than 4.3 million children are in dire need of aid and assistance. With help from our supporters, UNICEF is working tirelessly to reach as many of these children as we can.

In 2023 alone, UNICEF ensured nearly 1.8 million people received life-saving health services and provided nutritional supplements to over 3.3 million children.

Ongoing support also allows us to keep children safe, in a country rife with conflict. Since 2019, over 6,000 children have been used by armed groups in Somalia, with many being killed, maimed or sexually assaulted as a result. With support from people like you, UNICEF is helping children leave this horrific life behind, and providing thousands of children with psychosocial support to overcome trauma.

Our supporters have also allowed us to run vaccination programmes against deadly diseases. So far in 2024, over 4,000 children have been vaccinated against measles.

Millions more children are at immediate risk from these threats and others. With your help, we can ensure they escape this hunger, conflict and disease and grow up healthy and safe.

2-year-old Luul was diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition but is now recovering after treatment
Kits to combat cholera arrive by air in Somalia

Other Ways to Donate

You can make a donation by phone by calling 01 878 3000 from Monday to Friday between 9:00-5:30pm.

Or you can send your donation by post to:

Freepost; UNICEF Ireland, 33 Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin D01 R283.

In the unlikely event that the funds raised exceed UNICEF’s funding requirements for this appeal, your donation will be directed to where the need is greatest.

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