East Africa’s hunger emergency, with 42M facing crisis as food insecurity triples, IGAD warns

More than 42 million people across six East and Horn of Africa countries are facing acute food insecurity in 2025,according to a grim new report from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

The Regional Focus of the 2025 Global Report on Food Crises,released Tuesday (16 September),reveals that Djibouti,Kenya,Somalia,South Sudan,Sudan,and Uganda are all grappling with high levels of hunger,with numbers nearly tripling from 13.9 million in 2016 to 41.7 million today. Sudan has become the epicenter of the region’s crisis,with 24.6 million people in need — more than half the population analyzed — while South Sudan faces famine risk,with 57% of its population in crisis levels (IPC Phase 3) or worse. Despite improved rains in 2024,the benefits were largely offset by flooding,conflict,and economic instability,eroding gains in food production. 11.4 million children under five are acutely malnourished,and 3.1 million urgently require lifesaving treatment.

Displacement is compounding the crisis: the IGAD region is home to 23.2 million forcibly displaced people,including the world’s largest internal displacement crisis in Sudan. IGAD officials stress the need for urgent and collective action,warning that failure to address the root causes — climate shocks,and poverty — will continue to undermine peace and development. “The food crisis in our region is more than just hunger — it’s a stark reminder of the interconnected challenges we face,the severe effects of climate change,economic shocks,and displacement,” said IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu.