Millions of people across Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia facing drought crisis, as cost of water increases by 2000% in worst hit areas - Oxfam

• Failed October–December rains have pushed nearly 26 million people into extreme hunger in East Africa.  
• 58 million people do not have access to clean drinking water.  
• Millions of livestock are at risk as drought devastate grazing lands and water sources, threatening pastoralist livelihoods. 

Failure of the last rainy season across Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia is triggering a food and water emergency for millions of people still trying to recover from the longest and most severe recorded drought spanning from 2020 to 2023 during which five rainy seasons in a row failed. Dry wells, soaring water prices, crop losses and livestock deaths are pushing communities to the brink, warns Oxfam. 

Across the three countries, nearly 26 million people are facing extreme hunger as drought conditions worsen, decimating crops before harvest and leaving livestock to die from lack of water and pasture. Deepening water scarcity is also driving displacement with more than 58 million people lacking access to clean water. As rivers and shallow wells dry up, families –most often women and girls – are forced to walk up to 15 kilometers for a single 20-liter jerrycan while soaring prices put water trucking beyond reach for many families.  

In parts of Somalia, Oxfam staff and partners report that the cost of water has increased by more than 2000 percent. Families are now paying between $1 and $1.50 for a single jerrycan of water, compared to $0.06 a year ago. For families who have already lost their crops, livestock and sources of income, water is now unaffordable. In Hobyo town, north of the country’s capital, communities are relying on water trucked from Gawaan village, located 30 kilometers away. High transportation costs are driving up prices even further.  

Fati N'Zi-Hassane, Oxfam in Africa Director, said: “Water trucking is becoming the last line of defence, but for many families who can’t afford even one meal a day for their children, paying for water is simply impossible. For women and girls, the crisis is particularly severe as they now have to walk longer distances, often in unsafe conditions, to secure what should be a basic human right.” 

In Somalia, a new Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) alert revealed that the number of people facing hunger has nearly doubled since early 2025, rising to 6.5 million people. One in three people in the country are expected to be in crisis level hunger between February and March 2026. Levels of acute malnutrition have more than doubled, with communities struggling to survive as the climate crisis deepens. 

In Kenya’s arid and semi-arid areas, communities are reporting reduced harvests while in Ethiopia, some areas are reporting crop losses due to the failure of the last two rainy seasons, leaving households empty-handed. FEWSNET estimated that some regions had suffered production losses of 34 to 54 percent due to a severe rainfall deficit. 

Livestock, the backbone of pastoralist communities, are dying in large numbers as water and grazing lands completely dry up. In Somalia alone, an estimated 1.4 million livestock died in 2025, with another 2.5 million at risk. In Kenya’s northern counties, animal deaths from starvation and disease are rising while milk production has dropped by more than half, stripping families of their main source of food and income while in Ethiopia, poor rains have weakened livestock.  

The deepening crisis is unfolding amid severe humanitarian funding gaps. While needs have surged across East Africa, funding has declined sharply leaving millions of families to fend for themselves. In 2021, Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia required $2.65 billion in humanitarian aid, with just under 61 percent funded. In 2025, less than one-third of overall humanitarian requirements were met. In Somalia, the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan received only 29 percent of the required funding while the 2026 has secured barely 13.4 percent so far. 

“The upcoming dry season will not just be difficult – it could be the final blow pushing communities beyond the point of recovery. Urgent funding is needed now to save lives across the region. Communities here have contributed almost nothing to global climate crisis, yet they are paying the highest price. Families are fighting every day to survive its consequences. We can’t fail them,” said N’Zi-Hassane. 

Across Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, Oxfam is working with local partners to deliver life-saving water, hygiene kits, cash assistance and protection support to hard-to-reach and most severely affected communities.