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Projected population in need in March 2025
across FEWS NET monitored countries:
130-140 million
12% of the population
Total humanitarian food assistance needs across FEWS NET-monitored countries in March 2025 are projected to be:
Higher than needs in March 2024
Higher than the five-year average
This brief presents FEWS NET’s projected population in need of urgent humanitarian food assistance and the highest anticipated IPC Phase in each FEWS NET-monitored country seven months into the future. The projected population in need of urgent humanitarian food assistance is also compared to last year and the recent five-year average, and categorized as Higher, Similar, or Lower; for some countries, an asterisk (denoted by *) indicates that the comparison is approximate due to the recent addition to or adjustment of FEWS NET’s country coverage. Short descriptions are provided for countries with large food insecure populations, an expectation of high severity, or where other key concerns warrant further context. Analytical confidence is lower in FEWS NET’s remotely monitored countries, indicated by “RM.” Visit www.fews.net for detailed country reports.
The Population in Need (PIN) is the total number of people requiring urgent humanitarian food assistance. This number reflects the total population estimated to face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse acute food insecurity outcomes, including those who are receiving humanitarian food assistance and those who are not. The IPC follows a different approach to estimating the PIN.
Key Messages
In March 2025, FEWS NET expects the number of people in need of urgent humanitarian food assistance to be highest in the countries of Yemen, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.
When food assistance needs are expressed as a percent of the total population of each respective FEWS NET- monitored country, FEWS NET expects the share of the population that needs humanitarian food assistance to be highest in South Sudan and Yemen, where over 50 percent of each country’s population will most likely need food assistance, followed by Sudan and Zimbabwe, where over 30 percent of the country’s population will most likely need food assistance. In Lebanon, Somalia, Malawi, Haiti, and Afghanistan the share of each country’s population that most likely needs food assistance ranges between 15 and 24 percent.
Out of the projected total 130-140 million people in need across FEWS NET-monitored countries, Yemen, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are each expected to contribute 10 percent or more of total food assistance needs. Nigeria, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and South Sudan are each expected to contribute 5-9 percent of total food assistance needs.
In comparison to March 2024, FEWS NET expects the number of people in need to be higher in Sudan, Nigeria, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya, Haiti, Chad, Angola, and Lesotho. In contrast, FEWS NET expects the number of people in need of food assistance to be lower in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Afghanistan, and Venezuela. In all other countries, food assistance needs are expected to be similar to last year.