Nairobi: The humanitarian situation in Eastern Africa is rapidly worsening, driven by escalating conflicts, political instability, economic shocks, disease outbreaks, and extreme climate events.
According to Nam News Network, the latest Humanitarian Update for Eastern Africa by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reveals that the number of people facing hunger in the region has surged from 37 million in 2021 to 58.6 million in 2025.
Sudan and South Sudan remain among the most severely affected hunger hotspots. Wars in Sudan and South Sudan, protracted conflict in Somalia, and ongoing violence in Ethiopia have displaced millions. An estimated 17.7 million people, nearly 22 percent of the global total, are now internally displaced, with nearly 60 percent of them in Sudan, the UN regrets.
Additionally, the region hosts 5.9 million refugees, including 1.9 million in Uganda alone, and is battling major disease outbreaks that are compounding the crisis and overwhelming already fragile health systems. By the end of June, Eastern Africa was the global epicenter of cholera transmission, with nearly 109,000 reported cases, over a third of the global total. South Sudan, with over 61,000 cases, and Sudan, with around 32,000 cases, are among the most severely affected countries.
Some of the major disease outbreaks include measles, mpox, and others, unfolding amid critical funding shortfalls and operational constraints.