Greater Horn of Africa Food Insecurity and Health Crisis, Situation Report No. 1 (April–June 2026)

Overview

• The Greater Horn of Africa (GHoA) Food Insecurity and Health Crisis remains a Grade 2 emergency under the WHO Emergency Response Framework, affecting six countries across the WHO African Region and WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. The crisis continues to be driven by the convergence of acute food insecurity, conflict, climate shocks, population displacement, recurrent disease outbreaks, economic pressures and fragile health systems.
• More than 37.8 million people are experiencing or projected to experience acute food insecurity, while over 4.9 million children are projected to suffer acute malnutrition, including more than 1.5 million children requiring treatment for severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The overall regional burden is expected to be higher, as Ethiopia continues to report widespread food insecurity and increasing humanitarian needs, although a comparable national IPC Phase 3+ estimate is not yet available.
• Acute food insecurity and malnutrition, compounded by recurrent disease outbreaks, conflict, displacement, climate shocks, economic pressures and reduced access to essential health services, continue to increase the risk of preventable illness and death, particularly among children under five years of age, pregnant and lactating women, displaced populations, refugees, returnees, pastoralist communities and people living in hard-to-reach or insecure areas.
• WHO is providing technical leadership through a coordinated three-level response involving Headquarters, the WHO Regional Offices for Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, and country offices, working closely with Ministries of Health and Health and Nutrition partners to strengthen emergency coordination, surveillance and early warning, outbreak preparedness and response, management of severe acute malnutrition with medical complications, continuity of essential health services, and integrated health sector coordination.
• During the reporting period, WHO supported the development of a regional Strategic Response Plan, strengthened surveillance and early warning systems, expanded support to Nutrition Stabilization Centres, reinforced outbreak preparedness and response, deployed technical expertise, pre-positioned emergency medicines and nutrition supplies, and supported integrated health and nutrition service delivery across priority countries.
• Significant operational challenges continue to constrain the response, including funding shortfalls, insecurity, restricted humanitarian access, overstretched health systems, shortages of trained health workers, supply chain disruptions and limited stabilization centre capacity, affecting the scale and sustainability of life-saving interventions.
• WHO requires approximately US$25.4 million over the next six months (July–December 2026) to sustain priority life-saving health and nutrition interventions across the six-country response. Funding will support emergency coordination, surveillance and early warning, management of severe acute malnutrition with medical complications, continuity of essential health services, outbreak preparedness and response, and operational support to country-level implementation.