IGAD urges shift from crisis response to prevention as East Africa’s hunger crisis deepens

Jukwaa

📻 Breaking It Down

IGAD said the scale and persistence of the crisis required governments and development partners to act on early warnings, invest in resilient food systems and strengthen regional markets before shocks turn into humanitarian emergencies.

“More than 40 million people across the IGAD region are facing high levels of acute food insecurity,” IGAD Deputy Executive Secretary Mohamed Abdi Ware said at the launch of the IGAD Regional Focus of the 2026 Global Report on Food Crises.

“Behind this figure are families struggling to put food on the table, farmers and pastoralists whose livelihoods have been disrupted, and children facing malnutrition.”

📌 What You Need to Know

The report found that 40.3 million people, or 34 per cent of the analysed population, across Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2026.

The number has nearly tripled from 13.9 million in 2016, representing a 190% increase.

Ware said the figures should not be treated merely as a record of worsening conditions but as a trigger for a different approach to food security.

“The report we launch today therefore provides us with more than statistics – it is a call to action,” he said.

“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.”

IGAD identified five priorities: strengthening early warning and anticipatory action; investing in climate-resilient food systems and livelihoods; strengthening regional food markets and trade; addressing the interconnected drivers of conflict, displacement, climate vulnerability and food insecurity; and improving data, coordination and financing.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya

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