In a press release by the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), the Member States of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in its latest IGAD Regional Focus of the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2023 officially released in Nairobi summarised that over 55 million people facing acute hunger and requiring urgent food, nutrition, and livelihood assistance grappled with severe food crisis in 2022, a troubling increase of 13 million from  2021. 

In 2022, an alarming 55.45 million people across Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda needed urgent food assistance. Unfortunately, no data was available for Eritrea of the eight IGAD member states needing urgent food assistance. However, this development signifies a significant escalation in food insecurity, as it represents the largest population of individuals facing acute food crises in the region over the past five years.

Furthermore, the report highlighted the devastating reality faced by 301,000 people who endured Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) in 2022. Somalia and South Sudan accounted for 214,000 and 87,000 people, respectively, painting a devastating picture of the challenges experienced in these regions. In addition, the number of individuals facing acute food insecurity in the IGAD Member States has escalated since 2020, with an increase of over 10 million people yearly. This alarming trend highlights the urgent need for comprehensive measures to address and mitigate the growing food crisis in the region.

However, the grim situation is attributed to the compounding effects of the changing climate, including an unprecedented three-year drought in the Horn of Africa, record-breaking flooding in South Sudan, protracted conflicts, and macroeconomic challenges driven by the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.

According to IGAD Executive Secretary Dr Workneh Gebeyehu, “Hunger levels in our region are at an unprecedented high. This situation is inextricably linked to climate extremes and disasters, conflict and insecurity, and economic shocks, increasingly intertwined with spiralling negative consequences for tens of millions of children, men, and women”. 

2023 Projections

Projections for 2023 are not favourable either, as 30 million people are expected to require humanitarian food assistance in Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda. An estimated 7.5 million people in Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan are projected to face significant food consumption gaps and adopt emergency coping measures (Emergency, IPC Phase 4). In addition, more than 83,000 individuals in the region’s most severe drought and conflict-affected areas, particularly in Somalia and South Sudan, are expected to face extreme food shortages (Catastrophe, IPC Phase 5). Moreso, it is essential to note that these projections do not consider the recent clashes in Sudan. Such conflicts will inevitably worsen the region’s already dire food insecurity situation.

Sadly, even if the rainfall from March to May 2023 provides some respite from the severe drought, the Horn of Africa will continue grappling with this unprecedented event’s long-lasting and catastrophic consequences throughout 2023 and beyond. The recovery process of pastoral and agro-pastoral livelihoods following the devastating three-year drought will take years. Therefore, humanitarian assistance remains crucial during this period, as it supports the process of rebuilding and enables these vulnerable groups to recover fully.

In Sudan, the impact of the ongoing conflict on food availability and access is expected to drive a rapid deterioration in the food security and nutrition situation, with Khartoum and the region of Darfur most affected. By mid-May, more than 1 million people had fled their homes, with around 843 000 internally displaced people and more than 250,000 displaced to neighbouring countries. 

According to Rukia Yacoub, the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Deputy Regional Director for Eastern Africa, “The conflict in Sudan is sending hunger shockwaves across an already fragile region, as hundreds of thousands of people continue fleeing to neighbouring countries – pushing up already alarming food insecurity and malnutrition levels, and further stretching scarce humanitarian resources”. 

Way Forward 

The urgency and magnitude of the challenges experienced by the Eastern region of Africa require immediate and coordinated action to alleviate the suffering of millions affected by acute food insecurity.

“This crisis calls for a paradigm shift. To make advancements towards SDG 2 to End Hunger, we must take bolder action to build resilience against future shocks and transform our agri-systems into more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable ones. We must increase our efforts to build and sustain peace. Conflict and food insecurity are intertwined.

The message was echoed by The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Subregional Coordinator for Eastern Africa, representative to the African Union and to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa,  Dr Chimimba David Phiri, stated: “This report should serve as a wake-up call for us to take immediate and collective action to change our ways of working to address the root causes of food insecurity. The recent three-year drought across the Horn of Africa highlights the urgent need to upscale and institutionalise anticipatory action and climate adaptation strategies to prevent rather than just respond to future climate emergencies. Meanwhile, food insecurity caused by conflicts and the knock-on effects of global economic shocks highlights the critical need for efforts that sustainably build peace, increase domestic production, and reduce post-harvest losses in the IGAD region.”

Thus, efficiently addressing the dire food crises in the IGAD region requires urgent and coordinated efforts from international organisations, governments, the private sector, regional organisations, civil society, and communities. All actors are called to align efforts and share evidence and information which extend beyond immediate relief measures and encompass long-term strategies to achieve sustainable food security in the region.