Eastern Africa: Humanitarian Snapshot (As of December 2025)

The Eastern Africa region is home to some of the world’s most severe and complex humanitarian crises, with an estimated 48.5 million people - around 20 per cent of the global caseload - in need of assistance¹. Nearly 70 per cent of these are in Sudan. Worsening impacts of climate change, conflict, political instability, disease outbreaks, and economic shocks continue to drive humanitarian needs, further exacerbated by funding shortfalls.

Dry rainy season deepens food insecurity: In December, partners warned that extremely poor rains during one of the driest October–December (OND) seasons on record, driven by La Niña conditions, have led to a severe drought across the eastern Horn of Africa. This comes less than three years after the region was hit by a historic drought from late 2020 to early 2023. Worsening food insecurity is expected to persist, with nearly 36 million people in Burundi, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda projected to face crisis levels of food insecurity (IPC 3 or higher) between June 2025 and February 2026.

Malnutrition levels remain high, affecting more than 8 million children under five and over 1.3 million pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Displacement across the region ranks among the highest globally, with more than 25 million people uprooted from their homes as of December 2025, including 19.4 million internally displaced people and 6 million refugees and asylum seekers, largely driven by the conflict in Sudan. Renewed violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has also triggered a new influx of refugees into Burundi.

Public health crises are intensifying, with countries confronting outbreaks of cholera, mpox and marburg virus. The region accounts for more than one-third of global cholera cases. In 2025, cases increased by 36 per cent compared to 2024, reaching nearly 180,000, with South Sudan reporting the highest number. Cholera cases have also been reported in Burundi among refugees.

Despite reduced funding levels, humanitarian partners delivered life-saving or life-sustaining assistance to nearly 27.5 million people. However, only 34 per cent of the approximately US$8.6 billion requested was provided in 2025.