Eastern Africa: Humanitarian Snapshot (As of December 2024)

The Eastern Africa Region continues to grapple with multiple humanitarian crises caused by a combination of severe climate events such as droughts and floods, ongoing conflicts, political instability, economic shocks and disease outbreaks. This has led to widespread displacement, high rates of food insecurity and malnutrition and disease outbreaks. In 2025, at least 63 million or 45 per cent of the 141 million people across Africa including refugees, in need of humanitarian aid, are in the Eastern African nations of Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Kenya and Uganda. The region has some of the highest displacements globally with conflict as major driver. By November 2024, over 20 million people in the region have been displaced internally, with Sudan, the world’s largest displacement crisis, accounting for 57 per cent of this total. Additionally, more than 5.6 million people are hosted as refugees or asylum seekers within the region.

Food security remains a major concern. At least 51 million people in Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda face food insecurity between June 2024 through March 2025. South Sudan with 6 million people (over a half of the total population) and Sudan with 21 million people (41 per cent of the population) register crisis levels of food insecurity (IPC3+).

Over 9.3 million children are expected to suffer from high levels of acute malnutrition between June 2024 and May 2025 in Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

Major disease outbreaks including cholera, measles and recently mpox and Marburg continue to affect the region. Sudan has recorded the highest number of cholera-related deaths, with 470 fatalities. In Ethiopia alone, nearly 26,000 cholera cases have been reported, with the outbreak persisting since August 2022. Additionally, more than 3,668 mpox confirmed cases have been reported across five countries with more than 2,600 cases in Burundi alone. Marburg was confirmed in Rwanda for the first time, triggering transnational surveillance.

Humanitarian partners are working with governments to provide vital assistance despite access challenges and limited funding in some countries. As of 17 December, an average of only 44 per cent of the US$ 10.9 billion required in 2024 was provided.