Hunger due to Drought in East Africa

Of the countries where Welthungerhilfe (WHH) is working, Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are particularly affected. The rainy season from October to December 2025 was one of the driest since records began. For parts of the region, this was the fourth consecutive failed rainy season. Rainfall is estimated at less than 50 percent of the average in most parts, and regionally even less than 30 percent. High temperatures during the June to September 2025 dry season further accelerated the loss of surface water and soil moisture.

As a result, humanitarian needs are rising sharply. Current estimates suggest that 20 to 25 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia will require humanitarian food assistance, with the actual number likely higher. Immense harvest losses are expected for the January and February crops, severely limiting household food availability. The rapidly declining availability of pasture and water is harming livestock health, reducing milk production and shrinking income opportunities for poor households in pastoral areas.

By May, increasingly drastic consequences of acute food insecurity are expected to spread. In Kenya and Somalia, a growing share of the population is already facing an emergency (IPC Phase 4), and a catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) is expected for some of the poorest households in Somalia. Needs in WASH, nutrition, and health are rising in parallel. The peak of the crisis is expected in March, leaving only a rapidly shrinking window for early action. In addition to the drought crisis, an international funding crisis is limiting the resources available for life‑saving interventions.

WHH is planning and implementing emergency measures so that drought‑affected host communities and internally displaced people gain access to life‑saving food and WASH services. Through flexible cash assistance, families can independently and according to their needs cover their most urgent requirements, such as food, medicines, school fees, or transport.

Providing animal feed and veterinary medicines improves the survival rate of livestock, preventing distress sales and loss of livelihood assets. Thousands of households receive drinking water for themselves and their animals, while water supply systems are rehabilitated at several locations. Families receive food support to prevent malnutrition, especially among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.

The following examples from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya show the challenges people face—and how Welthungerhilfe is supporting them.

Somalia

In Somalia, drought conditions have led to water shortages, crop failures, livestock losses, and displacement. Between February and March 2026, an estimated 6.5 million people will face acute food insecurity—almost twice as many as in August 2025. This includes more than 2 million people in IPC Phase 4 (emergency). From January to December 2026, an estimated 1.84 million children aged 6 to 59 months will suffer from acute malnutrition, including 483,000 severe cases requiring urgent treatment. At the same time, humanitarian assistance decreased by 27 percent in January 2026 compared to the previous year.

Forecasts indicate that rainfall from April to June will be near normal in most areas and above average in some northern regions. However, this will likely only lead to a slight improvement in overall food security, with 5.5 million people expected to be classified in IPC‑AFI Phase 3 or higher. And so, WHH will concentrate its activities on the Caynaba district in Sool region in Somaliland and Saylac district in Awdal region in north‑western Somaliland—areas where few other humanitarian actors are present and rising malnutrition is already visible. Livestock market prices have fallen by around 30 percent due to distress sales and declining purchasing power, further eroding livelihoods.

In Somalia, we recognize the limited presence of other humanitarian actors. Despite immense needs, two districts where WHH works have not been prioritized in the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2026 (HNRP) due to OCHA’s stricter definition of need. Somalia is excluded from UN‑OCHA funds, resulting in considerable unmet needs in exactly those communities WHH is reaching.

The “lean season” or the “hungry period” between harvests, falls between February and March 2026 for pastoral households and between April and June for agro‑pastoral households.

Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, an increasing number of households in the southern and south‑eastern pastoral areas are expected to face an emergency (IPC Phase 4). Severe shortages of pasture and water have led to reduced milk production and the depletion of water sources. Livestock are in poor physical condition, reproduction is limited, milk yields are decreasing, and mortality is rising. Poor households are increasingly forced to sell livestock, migrate for work, and rely on support for firewood and water procurement.

Kenya

In Kenya, particularly in the pastoral areas in the north and north‑east of the country, the extreme 2022 drought wiped out almost 80 percent of the livestock. Crop yields remain very poor. Acute food insecurity has sharply worsened, with more than 3.3 million people and 429,000 refugees currently in IPC Phase 3 or above. This is projected to deteriorate further through June 2026 as climatic shocks continue.

At the same time, acute malnutrition has sharply deteriorated between late 2025 and January 2026, with nearly 810,900 cases of children aged 6–59 months who are acutely malnourished and require treatment throughout 2026. Between October and early December 2025, anticipatory measures were implemented, but needs were enormous, and limited resources meant that only a small share of the population could be reached.

People and animals are under severe strain; in some cases, animals must travel 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) to the nearest water point. Lack of water and pasture has triggered migration into insecure areas and contributed to disease outbreaks. The availability of milk has declined sharply.

Water for one household for one day costs about 0.7 to 0.9 US dollars in Somalia, around 60 to 80 euro cents. In our calculations, a household consists of six people, which means that the cost of the minimum amount of water for one person for one day is about 0.11 US dollars, around 10 euro cents. Water for one person for one month therefore costs around 3.5 US dollars, roughly 3 euros.

Due to current market conditions in the target areas, it is often not possible to purchase sufficient water locally, so it will likely have to be transported by water trucks. Water vouchers are expected to be issued in paper form; after presenting the vouchers to vendors and signing or using a thumbprint, participants receive their allocated water. This system helps ensure that water reaches target households identified as most in need. Where feasible, public water storage facilities, such as berkads, including some constructed in separate WHH projects, can also be used.

For multi‑purpose cash assistance (MPCA), we also assume a household size of six people. The most vulnerable households are identified—many of them female‑headed—based on clearly defined vulnerability criteria. Transfer values differ between locations because they are aligned with local market conditions. WHH follows the recommendations of the Somali Cash Working Group, which monitors prices using a minimum expenditure basket and proposes transfer values that allow households to cover their most important needs for one month.

Corporate partners can play a decisive role by:

• Providing flexible core funding that allows WHH to respond quickly where needs are greatest and other funding sources are not available.
• Supporting multi‑year partnerships that combine emergency aid with resilience‑building measures for pastoral and agro‑pastoral communities.
• Financing specific project components such as the rehabilitation of water systems, mobile nutrition services, or animal health campaigns, which can be reported on in a transparent and impact‑oriented way.
• Engaging employees and customers through matching campaigns, corporate volunteering formats, and awareness activities focused on hunger and climate resilience in East Africa.

By partnering with WHH, companies can help ensure that communities in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya receive support before they fall into life‑threatening crisis situations – protecting lives and livelihoods, and contributing to long‑term food security in one of the regions most affected by climate change.

The current crisis in East Africa shows how crucial predictable, flexible, and timely funding is. For many interventions—from emergency water supply and cash assistance to veterinary services and the rehabilitation of water systems—larger, strategic contributions are needed that go beyond what individual donations can cover.