In this fact sheet, we will look at the history of hunger in Africa and current trends, review the unique characteristics and challenges of each of the five subregions, discuss why hunger is so persistent on the continent, and touch on some of the solutions that are making a difference.
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Read the latest news and analysis about Africa and food insecurity below.
Gene Dewey, who passed away on February 22nd, was one of the great humanitarian leaders of his generation, inspiring many people and managing to move food and relief supplies to needed areas over the course of several decades. He was also an institution builder, seeing...
A study published this month, February 2026, about long-term malnutrition, measured by the degree of a child's stunting (low height for age) in Rwanda found that despite economic progress, low growth rates were found in 27% of children in northern areas. The authors note that "In addition to food...
As of early 2026, Mali continues to face a deep nutritional crisis. While there has been long-term incremental progress in reducing chronic malnutrition (stunting), acute malnutrition (wasting) remains at emergency levels, particularly in the conflict...
Childhood malnutriiton can be addressed by their communities via an initiative in Somalia developed by the "Maternal, Infant, Young Child and Adolescent Nutrition (MIYCAN) working group and fostered by UNICEF and the federal department of health of Somalia in the Horn of Africa. ...
Real-time food insecurity forecasting is critical. Early warning systems identify emerging risks, such as conflict, climate shocks, and price spikes, months in advance, enabling humanitarian actors to mobilize resources and intervene before food insecurity escalates into widespread malnutrition or f...
The anthology edited by John Osgood Field, The Challenge of Famine, Recent Experience Lessons Learned" remains one of the premier books about predicting and measuring famine ever published. Field, until his retirement a professor of food studies at Tufts University School of Nutrition, p...
Recent UN annual reports and updates about global hunger highlight several important issues and trends as we move into 2026: WFP will prioritize feeding 110 million in 2026 despite larger need: Declines in global humanitarian funding are forcing WFP...
The Emergency Nutrition Exchange, based out of Dublin, Ireland, has published groundbreaking, field-level technical research about attacking malnutrition for the last few decades. The latest edition, Issue 76 (October 2025) showcases community-led, data-informed, and systems-focused approaches to ...
Ken Isaacs spent more than three decades with Samaritan’s Purse, rising to executive vice-president and helping turn Franklin Graham’s organization into one of the largest Christian relief agencies on earth. In Running to the Fire he recounts that journey through a series of crisply tol...
August 28, 2025: Aid agencies estimate that malnutrition in Sudan increases in scale, depth and scope. Much of the reporting comes from the far western region of Darfur, where, between January and May 2025, North Darfur saw a 46% increase in children...
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