UN launches $852 million aid plan for Somalia amid deepening crisis

At Monday's briefing, United Nations Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric announced the launch of a $852 million Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Somalia, which he said, “is 40 percent less than last year” and “aims to support 2.4 million people.”

Dujarric stressed that the reduction in funding “is due to constrained resources, not reduced humanitarian needs.”

He said there will be, "significant gaps in essential services," as less than half of those in need of humanitarian aid will be able to receive help under the 2026 plan.

Dujarric said, “without urgent and scaled-up assistance, the combined prolonged drought, livelihood collapse, displacement, disease outbreaks and reduced humanitarian aid will worsen food insecurity, water shortages and health risks will increase,” and noted that “last year, the Response Plan was only funded at 27 percent, with $397 million out of the $1.4 billion we requested, forcing humanitarian organizations to sharply reduce and, in some cases, suspend life-saving assistance for human beings.”

The plan comes one month after Israel announced that it recognized Somaliland, a territory within Somalia, as an independent and sovereign nation.

Somaliland, a former British protectorate, declared independence from Somalia in 1991 following the collapse of the central government. Despite maintaining its own institutions and relative stability, it had never been recognized by a U.N. member state.

The recognition of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, led to several protests with hundreds of demonstrators gathered, waving Somali flags and chanting patriotic songs in a show of national unity.

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud warned that the dispute could undermine Somalia’s political stability, economic recovery and development if not handled carefully.