Somalia

Instead of vital rainfall being spread out over the rainy season, for several years now there have been days of heavy rain, destroying houses, fields, and roads and destroying further livelihoods. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled to escape certain death.

Around 1.85 million children under the age of five will suffer from acute malnutrition by July 2026 – the number has tripled in two years. Hundreds of thousands are in critical condition. In addition, the terrorist militia Al-Shabaab also increased its influence in 2025. Several offensive operations in central and southern Somalia continued to aim at encircling government areas and seizing power. As of December 2025, the group controls strategic areas of land and stages raids and attacks against state institutions.
As a result of devastating droughts, floods, and terror, hundreds of thousands of Somalis have lost their livelihoods. Water sources have dried up in many places and livestock numbers have plummeted. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) supports particularly vulnerable people with food and cash assistance. Due to the global decline in humanitarian aid, attempts are also being made in Somalia and the neighboring refugee camps to reduce the number of people receiving support to those in the most urgent need. This is not enough.

The resulting refugee movement has resulted in over 5.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) by the end of September 2025. However, many people are also leaving the country for Kenya, where Somalis make up the largest proportion of the 850,000 refugees registered by June 2025. Most live in Dadaab, the sprawling refugee camp in northeastern Kenya, near the Somali border. According to the mid-June 2025 census, it housed approximately 432,000 people. The camp complex has been in existence for over 30 years. At times, it was the largest refugee camp in the world. After the number of refugees declined over a period of years, it has risen significantly again in recent years.

Somalia remains one of the most dangerous countries for Christians. According to Open Doors, persecution is extremely high—the Christian faith is practiced almost exclusively in secret, putting lives at risk both within the country and in refugee camps such as Dadaab. Al-Shabaab systematically persecutes people of other faiths across borders and actively aims to eradicate Christianity from Somalia. However, Christians experience terror even without Al-Shabaab. Conversion brings shame on the family and usually leads to exclusion from the family and clan – and without these, it is impossible to survive in the harsh reality of Somalia.