NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 24 — The number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity across six East African countries has nearly tripled over the past decade to 40.3 million, as conflict, drought, economic shocks and displacement deepen a regional hunger crisis.

📻 Breaking It Down

The figure represents 34 per cent of the population covered by the 2026 analysis, meaning more than one in three people assessed are facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

According to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the number has risen from 13.9 million in 2016 to 40.3 million in 2026, a 190 per cent increase.

Charity Mumbua, a food security specialist at IGAD, said the figures should be treated as a warning requiring a change in how governments and humanitarian agencies respond to food crises.

📌 What You Need to Know

“These are not just statistics. As our deputy executive secretary stated, it is a call for action,” Mumbua said.

She said the region’s food crisis was being driven by multiple shocks acting together, including extreme weather, conflict, economic instability and displacement.

Sudan remains the region’s largest and most severe food crisis, with 19.5 million people, or 41% of its population, projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity between February and May 2026.

South Sudan has the highest prevalence, with 55% of its population estimated to be facing crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity between April and July.

Nearly 6.5 million people in Somalia, equivalent to 33% of the population, faced crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity between February and March 2026, an increase of 1.9 million from the 2025 peak.

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 — a 46 per cent increase, or nearly 1.3 million more people, from the 2025 peak.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya