Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Somalia’s hunger crisis has sharply worsened, with over 500,000 additional people facing acute food insecurity compared to previous projections. Main factors include poor Gu rainfall, rising food and fuel prices linked to the 2026 Middle East conflict, currency depreciation, displacement driven by conflict, and increasing flood risks. The number of children expected to need treatment for acute malnutrition in Somalia in 2026 has risen to nearly 1.88 million, with some districts reaching "extremely critical" malnutrition levels and a risk of famine under worst-case scenarios. Despite high needs, assistance currently reaches only 12 percent of people at crisis-level hunger or worse, prompting UN agencies and partners to call for urgent aid scale-up to prevent further loss of life.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), over 26 million people—almost one in four citizens—are struggling to meet basic food requirements. The crisis is driven by ongoing conflict, mass displacement totaling 7.8 million people, soaring food prices, and disease outbreaks including cholera, measles, and mpox, especially in eastern provinces such as North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Tanganyika. More than 3.6 million are experiencing emergency levels of hunger. The nutrition crisis is intensifying, with over 4.1 million children under five projected to need treatment for acute malnutrition in 2026, including 1.3 million with severe acute malnutrition, a potentially fatal condition. Over 1.5 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are also expected to be acutely malnourished, increasing health risks for mothers and children. Humanitarians emphasize that aid remains insufficient due to insecurity and funding gaps, urging immediate support to prevent worsening conditions.