By HAN News Desk
MOGADISHU – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid & Relief Centre (KSrelief) has announced an urgent relief package targeting nearly 100,000 drought-affected Somalis, as the country faces one of its most severe water and food crises in years, Somali officials said on Monday.
The pledge was delivered in Mogadishu by Yazeed Abdullah Hamoud, KSrelief’s regional director for Africa, during talks with Mahamud Moalim Abdule, the commissioner of the Somali Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA). The meeting sought to assess the fast-worsening humanitarian situation and identify immediate priorities for emergency response.
According to SoDMA, discussions included plans to expand water trucking operations, distribute food aid to the most vulnerable families, and support critical health and nutrition services in areas where malnutrition rates have sharply risen. Officials said the assistance will focus on regions where communities have been pushed to the brink after successive failed rainy seasons wiped out crops and livestock.
Yazeed Abdullah Hamoud underscored the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s “historic and unwavering solidarity” with the Somali people, stressing that KSrelief remains committed to providing timely and life-saving support, especially as climatic shocks intensify. He added that the new assistance package is part of a broader commitment by the Kingdom to stand with Somalia during major humanitarian emergencies.
Commissioner Mahamud Moalim Abdule thanked KSrelief for what he described as a “crucial and timely intervention,” noting that the aid will significantly strengthen Somalia’s ongoing drought-response operations. He said SoDMA is working closely with international partners to scale up relief efforts before the situation deteriorates further.
Somalia is currently grappling with extreme drought conditions following four consecutive failed rainy seasons—an environmental disaster driven by climate variability and compounded by decades of conflict and underdevelopment. UN agencies warn that millions of people face worsening food insecurity, acute water shortages, and the risk of large-scale displacement.
On 10 November, the federal government officially declared a national drought emergency. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has since reported that many northern, central and southern regions are experiencing “critical levels of need,” urging the international community to increase funding for urgent relief operations.
Humanitarian actors say that without immediate large-scale assistance, the drought could push vulnerable communities into famine-like conditions, particularly in areas where access is constrained by insecurity.
Further details on KSrelief’s deployment timeline and specific regions to be targeted are expected in the coming days.
