More than 40.3 million people across six Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member states are facing high levels of acute food insecurity in 2026, a regional report has warned, as conflict, drought, economic shocks and reduced humanitarian funding continue to deepen food crises.
The figure represents 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 number is lower than the 43.3 million recorded in 2025, largely because of improvements in Sudan and Uganda, but food insecurity has worsened in Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan.
Opening the launch of the report, IGAD Deputy Executive Secretary Mohamed Abdi Ware said the scale of the crisis required a shift from reacting to emergencies towards anticipating and preventing them.
“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 said the report should be treated as a call to action rather than simply a record 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.
The report identifies Sudan as the region's largest food crisis, with 19.5 million people, equivalent to 41 percent of the analysed population, facing high levels of acute food insecurity between February and May 2026. Conditions were expected to worsen during the June to September lean season, although data gaps in some of the most affected areas limit the analysis.
South Sudan has the highest prevalence, with 55 percent of its population facing acute food insecurity between April and July. The number of people requiring urgent food and livelihood assistance reached 7.8 million, an increase of nearly 103,200 from the 2025 peak.
The report said escalating conflict in Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity states has caused displacement, destroyed livelihoods and disrupted markets and essential services. About 2.5 million people were in Emergency, or IPC Phase 4, while 73,000 faced Catastrophe, or IPC Phase 5. Four counties were also identified as being at risk of famine under a worst-case scenario.
Somalia is also experiencing a sharp deterioration 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. This represented an increase of 1.9 million people from the 2025 peak.
The report linked the deterioration to the failure of the October to December 2025 rains, which resulted in the country's lowest cereal production on record. Deteriorating livestock conditions and prolonged drought further weakened household food and livelihood prospects. More than two million people were in IPC Phase 4, the highest number 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, faced high levels of acute food insecurity between April and June 2026. The figure was 46 percent higher than the 2025 peak, representing nearly 1.3 million additional people.
The report attributed the deterioration mainly to worsening drought following one of the driest October to December rainfall seasons on record across much of northern and eastern Kenya. The poor rains resulted in crop failures, severe pasture shortages and inadequate water supplies. High staple food prices also reduced household purchasing power.
Djibouti had 300,000 people, or 25 percent of its analysed population, projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity between July and December 2026. Uganda recorded an improvement, with the number declining to 2.1 million from 3.4 million in 2025, although communities in Karamoja and refugee settlements continued to face serious food insecurity.
Across the six countries, 10.3 million people were in Emergency, while 29.8 million were in Crisis, both classified as IPC Phase 3 or above. A further 208,100 people were in Catastrophe in Sudan and South Sudan.
The crisis is also having a severe impact on children. More than nine million children aged between six and 59 months require treatment for acute malnutrition across the six countries, including 2.3 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition. An estimated 19 million people were also living in forced displacement, comprising nearly 14.5 million internally displaced people and 4.5 million refugees and asylum-seekers.
Ware identified five priorities for addressing the crisis: strengthening 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, while calling for greater investment in climate-resilient agriculture, livestock, water infrastructure and appropriate technologies.
He also urged IGAD member states and partners to strengthen regional food supply chains, noting that disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb had highlighted the need for diversified trade routes.
“Food crises do not stop at national boundaries, and our cooperation must reflect that reality,” Ware said.
The report warns that the drivers of the crisis are interconnected. Conflict continues to disrupt livelihoods and humanitarian access, while failed and below-average rains have affected crop and livestock production. At the same time, high food and fuel prices and disruptions to maritime trade are putting additional pressure on households.
The region is also facing new climate risks. Forecasts for October to December 2026 indicate above-average rainfall in parts of eastern IGAD, which could support crop and livestock production but also increase the risk of flooding in eastern and southern Ethiopia, eastern Kenya, central and southern Somalia and Uganda.
Ware said the report should ultimately guide decisions and investments aimed at preventing crises before they escalate.
“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 added that the region's success should be measured not by how effectively it manages recurring food crises, but by its ability to reduce vulnerability and prevent those crises from emerging.
