New analysis warns that more than 17 million people in Southern and Eastern Africa could face acute hunger if the ongoing escalation in the Middle East continues to destabilize the global economy. Sub-Saharan countries, including Sudan and Somalia, which rely heavily on food imports, are particularly vulnerable. Parts of Sudan are already experiencing famine, while South Sudan remains at severe risk. Across Eastern Africa, nearly 36 million people are food insecure at crisis levels or worse, and Southern Africa faces a further 12.2 million people in need. Children are especially affected, with over 8 million children under five and 1.3 million pregnant or breastfeeding women in Eastern Africa acutely malnourished, while 180,000 children in Southern Africa face severe acute malnutrition.
The region is caught at the intersection of climate change, conflict, and poverty, where overlapping shocks drive displacement, disrupt markets, and weaken fragile systems. Funding cuts have forced humanitarian organizations to reduce life-saving assistance, leaving millions without adequate support. Sudan alone accounts for nearly 10% of global humanitarian needs, with 9.5 million people displaced internally and 4.3 million fleeing to neighboring countries. Drought in Somalia and La Niña-driven floods in Southern Africa have compounded the crisis, destroying livelihoods and forcing people to travel long distances for food and water.
Conflict continues to drive massive displacement, with over 25 million people uprooted across Eastern Africa. Families fleeing violence face hunger, disease, and prolonged insecurity, while host countries such as Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Burundi struggle to absorb large refugee populations without predictable international support. Disease outbreaks, including cholera, mpox, and measles, are rising as health systems weaken, particularly in overcrowded displacement camps and flood-affected areas.
Humanitarian access is increasingly constrained by conflict, insecurity, and bureaucratic barriers, creating a “perfect storm” of underfunded and overstretched aid operations. In 2025, only $3.22 billion of the $10 billion required for Southern and Eastern Africa was received, highlighting the urgent need for predictable and flexible financing, sustained diplomacy, investment in climate adaptation, and scaled-up anticipatory action. The region remains a global humanitarian hotspot not because crises are inevitable, but because known risks have not been met with sufficient action, with the cost of inaction measured in lives lost and deepening humanitarian emergencies.
