Nutrition

Over the past 10 years, food and nutrition crises have shifted from one-off emergencies to protracted conditions in many regions around the world, according to the 2026 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) released today. Since 2016, the global share of people facing acute food insecurity has nearly doubled. In 2025, 266 million people across 47 countries/territories experienced acute food insecurity; what’s more, 33 of those countries have appeared in every GRFC edition released since the report’s inception in 2016.

Key takeawaysA state-sponsored school meal program is boosting enrollment and attendance in Zamfara, giving children a strong incentive to come to school.School meals support communities, creating income for local women and strengthening local food systemsScaling the program will require better infrastructure, monitoring, and consistent funding to reach more children—especially the hardest-to-reach. On a recent morning in Zamfara State in northwestern Nigeria, children lined up patiently at Danturai Primary School, bowls in hand. For many of them, this was more than just a meal.

While Mali has seen some improvement in acute malnutrition rates in recent months, levels remain alarmingly high, according to an IPC alert released last month. The country’s nutrition situation is expected to deteriorate in the latter half of the year. The alert cites a 29 percent decline in acute malnutrition rates in 2026 compared to 2025. However, more than 1 million children under the age of 5 are forecast to suffer from acute malnutrition by October 2026, with 227,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

As of September 2025, as many as 3.4 million people in Somalia were experiencing acute food insecurity, according to the latest IPC country-level alert. While this represents a reduction from 3.6 million in September 2024, that number could reach as high as 4.4 million by December 2025 unless urgent action is taken.

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.