The fourth edition of the IGAD Regional Focus of the Global Report on Food Crises highlights the alarming high-levels of acute food insecurity in 2021 in the region, where about 42 million people were estimated to be in Crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3 or above), exceeding the previous three-year high in 2020 by nearly 33 percent.

Key messages

• In 2021, 41.9 million people faced Crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3 or above) in seven of the eight IGAD member states (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda).

• The IGAD region accounted for 22 percent of the global number of people in Crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3 or above) in 2021.

• 509 000 people were in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) in Ethiopia and South Sudan, three times higher than the previous five-year high in 2018.

• 10.5 million people were in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) in six member states, and 90 percent of this population was in Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan.

• Conflict and insecurity, weather extremes and macro-economic shocks were the primary drivers of acute food insecurity in the region.

• Over 10 million children under five years were wasted, 2.3 million of them severely so, across six member states.

• Forecasts point to a grim outlook, with over 50 million people expected to face Crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3 or above) in seven IGAD member states in 2022. Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan are estimated to face the largest food crises in the region.