Nutrition

Due largely to conflict and subsequent instability in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda is currently home to more than 1.9 million refugees. This is the sixth largest refugee population in the world. According to a new IPC alert released this week, despite Uganda’s welcome of people fleeing neighboring countries, the rapid growth of the refugee population has placed significant strain on the country’s systems. As a result, an estimated 37% population is expected to experience high levels of acute food insecurity through February 2026.

Hunger and food crisis have reached catastrophic levels in multiple places around the world, according to the Global Report on Food Crises Mid-Year Update. Famine has been confirmed in the Gaza Strip and the Sudan, with parts of South Sudan at risk of famine and Yemen, Haiti, and Mali experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger.

In all, 1.4 million people faced IPC Level 5 (Catastrophe) food insecurity and hunger as of August 2025.

Drought, unpredictable rainfall patterns, high and rising food prices, and continued conflict and internal displacement are driving acute food insecurity in Mozambique. A new IPC alert released last week reports that between April and September 2025, more than 2 million people have experienced IPC Level 3 food insecurity and 143,000 people have experienced IPC Phase 4 food insecurity and malnutrition.

In recent years, it has become increasingly recognized that true food and nutrition security depend not just on consumption of an adequate caloric quantity of food but also on consumption of the right types of food. A healthy diet—which the WHO and FAO define as one characterized by adequate, balanced, moderate, and diverse consumption of safe foods and beverages—is essential in supporting long-term physical and cognitive health, development, and well-being and in preventing diseases and damaging nutrient imbalances.

Conflict, extreme weather events, and economic shocks led to worsening food security outcomes throughout much of Africa south of the Sahara in 2024, according to the recently released 2025 Global Report on Food Crises. While a number of countries saw improvements in their levels of acute food insecurity, all regions saw an overall increase in the number of acute food-insecure people.