The humanitarian situation in Eastern Africa is rapidly worsening, driven by escalating conflicts, political instability, economic shocks, disease outbreaks, and extreme climate events.
According to the latest Humanitarian Update for Eastern Africa by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the number of people facing hunger in the region has surged from 37 million in 2021 to 58.6 million in 2025.
Sudan and South Sudan remain among the most severely affected hunger hotspots.
Kenya is among several countries in the region, including Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, experiencing food insecurity.
“The region accounts for nearly 21 per cent of the world’s humanitarian caseload and bears some of the worst humanitarian indicators. Sudan alone hosts a staggering 10 per cent of the world’s number of people in need of assistance”, the report observes.
It further highlights that the region also bears a heavy burden of acute malnutrition, with 8.7 million children under the age of five affected. At the same time, it is grappling with a massive and rapidly worsening displacement crisis driven by ongoing conflicts.
“Wars in Sudan and South Sudan, protracted conflict in Somalia, and ongoing violence in Ethiopia have displaced millions. An estimated 17.7 million people, nearly 22 per cent of the global total, are now internally displaced, with nearly 60 per cent of them in Sudan”, the UN regrets.
Additionally, the region hosts 5.9 million refugees, including 1.9 million in Uganda alone and is battling major disease outbreaks that are compounding the crisis and overwhelming already fragile health systems.
By the end of June, Eastern Africa was the global epicentre of cholera transmission, with nearly 109,000 reported cases, over a third of the global total. South Sudan, with over 61,000 cases, and Sudan, with around 32,000 cases, are among the most severely affected countries.
Some of the major disease outbreaks include measles, mpox, and others, unfolding amid critical funding shortfalls and operational constraints.
“Limited resources have forced many partners to scale back or suspend essential services, leaving millions without access to basic assistance and protection. By mid-year, humanitarian response plans seeking $10.3 billion were only 15 per cent funded”, OCHA reports.
