Desperate and Displaced: The Human Toll of Somalia’s Worst Drought in Decades, by British photographer Tariq Zaidi, won 1st Place in Environmental editorial photography at the 2026 International Photography Awards. The images were made in 2022.
That November, Somalia was sliding deeper into a humanitarian emergency as relentless drought and hunger forced more than a million people from their homes. UNICEF reported that a child was being hospitalised with acute malnutrition every minute, and aid groups warned that more than 500,000 children could suffer severe malnutrition. Conflict, disease and rising food prices deepened the crisis; nearly half the population, about 7.8 million people, was affected.
Zaidi’s photographs move from sprawling camps of makeshift shelters to clinics and family spaces, giving faces and context to numbers that are otherwise hard to grasp. The series is a reminder that climate crises are, first of all, human crises.
More about the photographer: Tariq Zaidi, Creative Profile
Official award record: International Photography Awards winners
Behind every statistic about drought is a family that had to leave home.
International Photography Awards, 2026 — 1st Place, Editorial / Press: Environmental
