Currently 1.4 million children face "acute malnutrition through the end of this year," agencies said.

Somalia is currently facing what experts call its worse drought in a decade, with the country's largest river, the Juba, almost totally dried up.

The country is battling "a perfect storm of poor rain, skyrocketing food prices and huge funding shortfalls leaves almost 40% of Somalis on the brink," the press statement said.

The agencies also urged for more funds for the country.

"The reality is that time is not on our side and many more lives and livelihoods are bound to be lost in case of further funding delays," said Adam Abdelmoula from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha).