More than 40.3 million people in six countries across the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region are facing high levels of acute food insecurity in 2026, with conflict, drought, economic shocks and shrinking humanitarian funding intensifying the crisis.
IGAD Deputy Executive Secretary Mohamed Abdi Ware (fourth from left) joined by other officials during the launch of the Regional Focus of the 2026 Global Report on Food Crises in Nairobi on September 24, 2026./HANDOUT
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The figure accounts for 34 percent of the analysed population in Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda, according to the IGAD Regional Focus of the 2026 Global Report on Food Crises.
The total is down from the 43.3 million recorded in 2025, mainly because conditions improved in Sudan and Uganda. But food insecurity has deteriorated in Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan.
Launching the report, IGAD Deputy Executive Secretary Mohamed Abdi Ware said the region must move beyond repeatedly responding to emergencies and focus instead on anticipating threats and preventing them from escalating.
“Today, we are confronted with a stark reality: more than 40 million people across the IGAD region are facing high levels of acute food insecurity,” Ware said.
“Behind this figure are families struggling to put food on the table, farmers and pastoralists whose livelihoods have been disrupted, and children facing malnutrition.”
Ware described the report as a warning that should prompt action, rather than merely document the scale of the region’s food crisis.
“The scale and persistence of food insecurity in our region demand that we move beyond responding to recurrent crises and strengthen our capacity to anticipate risks, prevent deterioration and strengthen resilience,” he said.
Sudan remains the region’s largest food crisis, the report says, with 19.5 million people—or 41 percent of the analysed population—facing high levels of acute food insecurity between February and May 2026. The situation was projected to deteriorate during the June to September lean season, although gaps in data from some of the hardest-hit areas have constrained the analysis.
South Sudan recorded the highest prevalence, with 55 percent of its population experiencing acute food insecurity between April and July. The number needing urgent food and livelihood assistance rose to 7.8 million, nearly 103,200 more than the 2025 peak.
According to the report, intensifying conflict in Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity states has displaced communities, destroyed livelihoods and interrupted markets and essential services. Around 2.5 million people were classified as being in Emergency, or IPC Phase 4, while 73,000 were in Catastrophe, or IPC Phase 5. Four counties were considered at risk of famine under a worst-case scenario.
Somalia has likewise seen a steep decline in food security. Nearly 6.5 million people, or 33 percent of the population, faced high levels of acute food insecurity between February and March 2026—an increase of 1.9 million from the 2025 peak.
The report attributed the worsening conditions to the failure of the October to December 2025 rains, which led to Somalia’s lowest cereal production on record. Prolonged drought and worsening livestock conditions further eroded household food supplies and livelihoods. More than two million people were in IPC Phase 4, the highest figure recorded for Somalia in the history of the Global Report on Food Crises.
In Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands, 4.1 million people, including nearly 429,500 refugees, experienced high levels of acute food insecurity between April and June 2026. That was 46 percent above the 2025 peak and amounted to almost 1.3 million additional people.
The deterioration was driven largely by worsening drought after one of the driest October to December rainfall seasons on record across much of northern and eastern Kenya. Poor rains caused crop failures, severe pasture shortages and inadequate water supplies, while elevated staple food prices weakened household purchasing power.
In Djibouti, 300,000 people—25 percent of the analysed population—were projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity between July and December 2026. Uganda recorded an improvement, with the number falling to 2.1 million from 3.4 million in 2025, although communities in Karamoja and refugee settlements remained seriously affected.
Across the six countries, 10.3 million people were classified as being in Emergency and 29.8 million in Crisis, both IPC Phase 3 or above. Another 208,100 people in Sudan and South Sudan were in Catastrophe.
Children are bearing a particularly heavy burden. More than nine million children aged six to 59 months across the six countries need treatment for acute malnutrition, including 2.3 million with severe acute malnutrition. An estimated 19 million people were also living in forced displacement, including nearly 14.5 million internally displaced people and 4.5 million refugees and asylum-seekers.
Ware outlined five priorities for confronting the crisis: improving early warning and anticipatory action; investing in resilient food systems and livelihoods; strengthening regional food markets and trade; addressing conflict, displacement and climate vulnerability; and improving data, coordination and financing.
“We must ensure that early warning consistently leads to early action,” Ware said, urging greater investment in climate-resilient agriculture, livestock, water infrastructure and appropriate technologies.
He called on IGAD states and their partners to reinforce regional food supply chains, saying disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb had demonstrated the importance of diversifying trade routes.
“Food crises do not stop at national boundaries, and our cooperation must reflect that reality,” Ware said.
The report describes the crisis as the product of interconnected pressures. Conflict continues to destroy livelihoods and restrict humanitarian access, while failed or below-average rains have reduced crop and livestock production. High food and fuel prices, together with disruptions to maritime trade, are adding further strain on households.
The region also faces emerging climate-related threats. Forecasts for October to December 2026 point to above-average rainfall in parts of eastern IGAD. The rains could boost crop and livestock production, but they could also raise the risk of flooding in eastern and southern Ethiopia, eastern Kenya, central and southern Somalia and Uganda.
Ware said the report should be used to shape decisions and investments that stop food crises before they worsen.
“Let this report be more than an assessment of the situation. Let it guide decisions, investments and action. Let us act before warning signs become emergencies,” he said.
He said the region’s progress should not be judged by how well it manages recurring food emergencies, but by whether it can reduce vulnerability and prevent those crises from taking hold.
