War in Iran, new blow for malnourished children in Somalia

For malnourished children in Somalia, hit by the double disaster of an impending famine and drastic cuts in foreign aid, the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran is not just about soaring gas prices; it’s a matter of life or death.

Short Context: The article discusses the impact of the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran on the availability of vital food aid for malnourished children in Somalia.

Short Fact Check: The article mentions the ongoing conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran and its effects on the transportation and delivery of essential food supplies to Somalia.

The shortages of vital therapeutic foods, exacerbated by disruptions in maritime transport, are forcing clinics to turn away severely malnourished children and ration stocks, according to information gathered by Reuters.

Close to half a million children under 5 years old suffer from ‘severe acute malnutrition’ or wasting, the deadliest form of hunger, and delivery delays worsen the impact of aid cuts.

The healthcare staff in Baidoa and Mogadishu say they have had to dip into meager stocks of specialized milk and peanut-based nutritional paste, essential to saving these children.

‘Since the needs are immense and we have few supplies, we have had to gradually reduce the quantities distributed to children,’ explains nurse Hassan Yahye Kheyre.

The remaining 225 boxes of peanut paste in his clinic, which treats over 1,200 children, are likely to run out within two weeks, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which supplies the facility.

‘If treatment is interrupted, children will weaken significantly, both physically and mentally. And it could be impossible to turn back,’ adds Kheyre.

IRC, one of three humanitarian organizations, has stated that shipping delays and higher costs due to the Iran conflict are exacerbating an already complex situation.

At the Baidoa clinic in the southwest of the country, managed by READO, IRC’s local partner, Muumino Adan Aamin, a mother of nine children, is trying to get peanut paste for her 11-month-old daughter, Ruweido.

Ruweido is on a regimen of three sachets per day, but Aamin has been turned away twice, as the clinic was out of stock each time.

Aamin almost lost her daughter Anisa to hunger during a previous drought that pushed Somalia to the brink of famine in 2017. ‘She was just skin and bones,’ she recalls, noting that the girl survived thanks to the peanut paste.

Now, nine years later, a new drought has plunged 6.5 million people, one in three Somalis, into acute hunger, and humanitarian groups are desperately trying to fill the gaps.

An IRC order for peanut paste for over 1,000 children got stuck two months ago at the Indian port of Mundra, now crowded with diverted shipments unable to dock in the Gulf, explains Shukri Abdulkadir, IRC’s coordinator for Somalia.

After learning that the Indian-made peanut paste would take at least an additional 30 days to arrive, IRC canceled the order.

The organization placed an emergency order for 400 boxes from Nairobi and is transferring stocks from Mogadishu to Baidoa while awaiting their delivery.

But the increased freight and manufacturing costs have raised the price of a single box from $55 to $200, according to CARE International, whose latest order can only feed 83 children, down from 300 previously.

In 2024, deliveries of therapeutic milk and ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) from Europe to Somalia typically took 30 to 35 days. This timeframe has now increased to 40-45 days in 2025, with ships bypassing Africa due to security threats in the Red Sea.

Since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran closed the Gulf, the ship shortage has extended this timeframe to 55-65 days, says Mohamed Omar, ACF’s health and nutrition manager in Mogadishu.

Meanwhile, in Somalia, the global hunger watchdog IPC reports that over 2 million people are now in ‘Emergency’ phase, the last stage before famine.

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