Nairobi, Kenya — A deepening humanitarian crisis in the Greater Horn of Africa (GHoA) has been reported, with over 37. 8 million people experiencing or projected to experience acute food insecurity. This includes over 4.
9 million children who are projected to suffer acute malnutrition, with more than 1. 5 million requiring treatment for severe acute malnutrition (SAM).
The crisis, categorized as a Grade 2 emergency under the WHO Emergency Response Framework, spans six countries across the WHO African Region and WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, driven by a complex convergence of factors such as acute food insecurity, conflict, climate shocks, population displacement, recurrent disease outbreaks, economic pressures, and fragile health systems.
In Sudan, the situation is particularly acute, with confirmed famine conditions in Al Fasher and Kadugli. Elsewhere, despite some improvements in food security and nutrition due to a reduction in conflict, millions continue to face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse.
The WHO has been providing technical leadership through a coordinated response, including support for a regional Strategic Response Plan, strengthened surveillance and early warning systems, expanded Nutrition Stabilization Centres, outbreak preparedness and response, and deployment of technical expertise. Despite these efforts, significant operational challenges persist, including funding shortfalls, insecurity, restricted humanitarian access, overstretched health systems, shortages of trained health workers, supply chain disruptions, and limited stabilization centre capacity.
The WHO requires approximately US$25. 4 million over the next six months to sustain priority life-saving health and nutrition interventions across the six-country response.
The international community is urged to act swiftly to provide relief and support to mitigate the effects of the crisis, which is further complicated by potential exacerbations due to the El Niño phenomenon and broader effects on food prices and fertilizer due to the war in Iran.
*Additional reporting by ImNews | Sources consulted: 5*
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This original article was produced by the ImNews editorial team
Source: reliefweb
Source: World Health Organization
