Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) Humanitarian Fund (July 2025)

28% of the global humanitarian caseload is in Eastern and Southern Africa

The Eastern and Southern Africa region is experiencing severe and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crises, driven by a complex mix of ongoing and emerging conflicts, the escalating impacts of climate change, political instability, and insufficient economic development. The situation is characterized by mass displacement, recurrent disease outbreaks, acute food insecurity and malnutrition, and widespread protection concerns, particularly affecting women and children.

In 2025, nearly 85 million people – 28 per cent of people in need globally – are in Eastern and Southern Africa. Of these, over 63 million are projected to face crisis levels of food insecurity, with famine already confirmed and expanding in countries such as Sudan. Between June 2024 and March 2025, an estimated 10.3 million children under five, along with pregnant and nursing women, are expected to suffer from severe malnutrition in Burundi, Djibouti, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, Madagascar, and Mozambique.

As of December 2024, more than 21 million people were internally displaced, with nearly five million living as refugees and asylum seekers across the region. Major disease outbreaks—including cholera, measles, dengue, and mpox—intensified the humanitarian emergency, particularly in Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, where health systems were overwhelmed. The deadliest cholera outbreak in a decade was reported in the region with over 173,000 cases reported in 2024 alone. The cholera situation continued with South Sudan, Sudan and Angola among the worst affected in the world by mid-year.

In addition, climatic hazards have further compounded the situation. The worst drought in a century, driven by El Niño, struck Southern Africa. In 2024, six countries, including Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, declared a state of emergency due to the devastating impact on food security, crop production, and livelihoods. On the other hand, Eastern Africa experienced devastating floods which affected millions of people. Tropical storms and cyclones impacted hundreds of thousands of people in Southern Africa, complicating the impacts of the drought. The region descended into a severe food security crisis and crisis-level hunger conditions reported in 15 of the region’s 25 countries.

What is the ESA Humanitarian Fund?

Established in May 2024, the Eastern and Southern Africa Humanitarian Fund (ESA HF) is a strategic and scalable funding mechanism, supporting locally-led humanitarian action across the region1 . The Fund offers a cost-efficient model for expanding pooled funding through the creation of dedicated country envelopes, allowing for targeted, context-specific allocations that maximize impact where humanitarian needs are most urgent. With adaptable modalities that can scale according to the severity and location of emergencies, the ESA HF provides a strategic avenue for responding to both sudden-onset and protracted, underfunded crises. The Fund enables member states and stakeholders from the region to directly support humanitarian initiatives led by local actors. In light of the rising frequency and severity of climate-related disasters, the ESA HF presents additional opportunities to attract climate financing, further enhancing the humanitarian system’s ability to deliver timely, coordinated assistance in vulnerable contexts—ensuring resources are used with maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

The ESA HF has an operational Country Envelope in Mozambique, managed by OCHA under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) in Mozambique and guided by an Advisory Board. This Mozambique Envelope ensures the delivery of essential assistance to communities affected by the compounded impacts of conflict and climate shocks.

Mozambique faces a convergence of complex, escalating risks. In the northern province of Cabo Delgado, ongoing conflict continues to threaten civilian lives and humanitarian operations, driving widespread displacement and insecurity. At the same time, the country remains acutely vulnerable to climate extremes, including recurrent cyclones, most recently Chido, Dikeledi, and Jude in late 2024 and early 2025, along with widespread flooding and severe El Niño-induced droughts. These events damage infrastructure, disrupt livelihoods, and intensify food insecurity and health emergencies, including recurrent cholera outbreaks.