{"id":3567,"date":"2025-12-08T07:18:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T07:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jubaglobal.com\/?p=3567"},"modified":"2026-05-10T02:07:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T00:07:02","slug":"un-layoffs-in-somalia-humanitarian-crisis-deepens-as-funding-shortage-triggers-over-680-job-losses-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/un-layoffs-in-somalia-humanitarian-crisis-deepens-as-funding-shortage-triggers-over-680-job-losses-in-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Layoffs in Somalia: Humanitarian Crisis Deepens as Funding Shortage Triggers Over 680 Job Losses in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy: Juba Global News Network Mogadishu, 8 December 2025 Somalia\u2019s already fragile humanitarian system has been shaken to its core, as United Nations agenci<\/span>
\nLayoffs, Somalia, Humanitarian, Crisis, Deepens<\/span>
\nUN Layoffs in Somalia: Humanitarian Crisis Deepens as Funding Shortage Triggers Over 680 Job Losses in 2025.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

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By: Juba Global News Network<\/em>
Mogadishu, 8 December 2025<\/p>\n

Somalia\u2019s already fragile humanitarian system has been shaken to its core, as United Nations agencies have let go of more than 680 national and international staff since January 2025. Most of these layoffs have hit during the year\u2019s final quarter. The agencies affected\u2014UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), UNHCR, WHO, FAO, OCHA, plus a handful of smaller outfits\u2014are now witnessing what\u2019s probably the sharpest single-year staffing reduction the UN has ever seen in the Horn of Africa.<\/p>\n

Why such drastic cuts? Senior UN officials lay the blame squarely on \u201can unprecedented funding shortfall\u201d that\u2019s left the 2025 Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) in serious trouble. The plan\u2014launched last December\u2014asked for US$1.87 billion to help 5.4 million of Somalia\u2019s most vulnerable. But as of 30 November, they\u2019d only managed to scrape together $637 million. That\u2019s just 34% of what\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n

Behind the Numbers: Personal Stories of Loss<\/h3>\n

For hundreds of Somali staff, many who\u2019ve spent a decade or more working with the UN, the news has been nothing short of shattering. Amina Hassan, a 38-year-old nutrition officer with UNICEF in Baidoa, received her termination letter on 15 November. She preferred not to use her real name when talking to Juba Global News Network. \u201cI\u2019ve been vaccinating children against measles and treating severe malnutrition since the 2017 drought,\u201d she explained. \u201cNow, suddenly, they say there\u2019s no money for my salary, but those same children are still dying. It\u2019s like the world has decided Somalia isn\u2019t worth saving right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

And hers isn\u2019t a unique story. In Mogadishu, 127 WFP logistics and warehouse staff were dismissed in October, which meant the agency had to stop food distributions in six districts of Banadir region. In Puntland, UNHCR ended cash support to 18,000 internally displaced families after letting go of 43 protection officers.<\/p>\n

On the Brink: UN Programmes Gutted<\/h3>\n

The consequences have been swift and dramatic:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • WFP\u2019s monthly food and cash assistance shrank from reaching 3.2 million people in January 2025 to just 1.8 million in November\u2014lowest since 2021.<\/li>\n
  • UNICEF has now shut down 41 out of its 180 fixed and mobile nutrition centers across south-central Somalia, leaving about 87,000 kids under five without treatment for severe acute malnutrition.<\/li>\n
  • UNHAS, the UN\u2019s shared air service that\u2019s vital for accessing hard-to-reach places, has axed 30% of its flights, stranding both medical teams and critical supplies.<\/li>\n
  • And in Jubaland, the polio vaccination drive slated for December? That\u2019s on indefinite hold, after 28 vaccinators were laid off.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    During a press conference in Mogadishu on 4 December, Adam Abdelmoula, the UN\u2019s Deputy Special Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, didn\u2019t mince words: \u201cWe are being forced to choose which life-saving programmes to sacrifice. This isn\u2019t a technical budgeting matter\u2014this is a moral failure by the international community.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Why Did Funding Dry Up?<\/h3>\n

    What\u2019s behind the collapse? Several overlapping reasons:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Donor fatigue: After years of drought, floods, and conflict, several traditional donors have cut their support, citing \u201ccompeting global crises\u201d\u2014think Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan.<\/li>\n
    2. U.S. policy shift: The U.S., always Somalia\u2019s top backer, has slashed its 2025 pledge by nearly 60% compared to last year, according to UN Financial Tracking data.<\/li>\n
    3. Concerns about how money\u2019s used: Some donors, speaking off the record, say they\u2019re worried too much funding goes toward overhead and security, not enough toward direct aid.<\/li>\n
    4. Plummeting Somali shilling: The currency\u2019s dropped 28% against the dollar in 2025, so running programmes and paying salaries in hard currency is suddenly way pricier.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Somalia Already on the Edge<\/h3>\n

      The timing? Couldn\u2019t be worse. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report from 2 December says 4.4 million Somalis will face crisis-level or worse food insecurity (IPC Phase 3+) from October 2025 through March 2026. Of those, 1.2 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition. As if that\u2019s not enough, Al-Shabaab is still blocking aid in parts of Lower Shabelle, Bay, and Bakool, and, for the second year running, desert locusts have damaged crops up north.<\/p>\n

      Hearing from the Front Lines<\/h3>\n

      Dr. Mariam Ali, a Somali pediatrician who recently lost her job at a WHO-supported hospital in Galkayo, spoke to Juba Global News Network: \u201cI used to treat 40, maybe 50 kids a day. Now the hospital has just two doctors for 300 patients. Mothers are bringing in babies who are literally skin and bones, and we can\u2019t even give them therapeutic food. This isn\u2019t just a layoff; for thousands of children, it\u2019s a death sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Looking Forward: What\u2019s Next for 2026?<\/h3>\n

      Humanitarian leaders warn that unless at least another $400 million is found by the end of December, even deeper cuts are coming. Several agencies are now drawing up emergency plans\u2014ones that could mean closing regional offices and suspending vital cash transfers to the 1.1 million households that rely on them.<\/p>\n

      The Somali federal government, grappling with its own budget limitations, has reached out to Gulf countries, Turkey, and China for emergency stopgap funding. But so far? No definite promises.<\/p>\n

      As 2025 comes to an end, these layoffs are more than just a statistic. They\u2019re a stark reminder that in a world with crisis after crisis, the most vulnerable are increasingly left behind. For the 680-plus UN staffers now hunting for work in a country where youth unemployment is 70%, and for the millions of Somalis who relied on them, the international community\u2019s message is hard to miss: Somalia\u2019s suffering, once high on the global agenda, has quietly faded into the background.<\/p>\n

      Juba Global News Network will keep following the story and reporting on how these cuts are impacting everyday Somalis in the coming weeks and months.<\/p>\n

      \u00a9 2025 Juba Global News Network \u2013 All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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