Resources

Six million people in Somalia—31 percent of the analysed population—are facing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) between April and June 2026, including 1.9 million in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). This marks an increase of more than half a million people compared to the initial projection for this time period. 
The updated analysis of the  April–June 2026 projection period shows that both food security and nutrition outcomes are worse than initially predicted.  The deterioration is driven by poor Gu rainfall, sharp food price spikes linked to the 2026 Middle East conflict, currency depreciation and conflict-related displacement.
A rapid and sustained scale‑up of multisectoral assistance—particularly in hotspot areas such as Burhakaba—is urgently needed to prevent further deterioration and loss of life. 

The IPC analysis in Sudan was a complex exercise, given the sheer size of the country and the analytical challenges posed by the ongoing conflict. While IPC findings for February–May 2026 (post-harvest season) cover the entire country (195 localities and IDP settlements), findings for June–September 2026 (lean season) and October 2026-January 2027 (harvest season) cover a significantly smaller area—56 localities and IDP settlements, representing around 8.3 million people and a large share of the most food‑insecure populations.
Data was not available for a full nationwide projection analysis. Caution is therefore advised when comparing figures across periods, as geographic coverage differs significantly.
Nearly 19.5 million people—approximately 41 percent of the country’s population—continue to face high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) between February and May 2026. This includes nearly 135,000 people in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe), more than 5 million people in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency), and a further 14 million people in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis). Conditions are expected to deteriorate further in the upcoming June–September lean season.

The IPC conducted a projection update analysis for the period of January to June 2026, focused on the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika. More than 9.9 million people in these four areas will continue to experience high levels of acute food insecurity in this period. Although this represents a slight improvement of 1.8 percent compared with the September 2025 projection for the same period, the situation still reflects a deterioration from the current analysis, underscoring the persistent severity of food insecurity in the region.
At the national level, approximately 26.5 million people (23 percent of the analysed population) are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity between January and June 2026, including more than 3.6 million people in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and 22.9 million people in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis).
Key drivers of the high levels of acute food insecurity include relentless armed conflict, and economic and climatic shocks. The food security situation is further undermined by limited access to essential services and weakened infrastructure, gaps in social protection systems and insufficient coverage of humanitarian assistance.

The brief synthesizes robust evidence on climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices on adaptive crop management and agroforestry that strengthen household resilience to climate shocks in Burkina Faso and Africa south of the Sahara (SSA). The findings highlight a set of proven practices, including agroforestry, farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR), improved seeds, integrated soil fertility management (ISFM), and composting. These practices deliver consistent benefits in terms of yield gains, improved soil fertility, enhanced water retention, diversified incomes, and stronger food security under climate stress.

The brief synthesizes robust evidence on soil and water conservation practices (SWCPs), a subset of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices that strengthen household resilience to climate shocks in Burkina Faso and Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings highlight a set of proven practices, including zai pits, half-moons, stone bunds, mulching, irrigation and sustainable water harvesting and management. These practices have demonstrated measurable impacts on yield gains, improved soil fertility, increased water retention, enhanced food security, and income stability, particularly in drought-prone and degraded environments.

This research brief presents evidence that shifting attention from single shocks and population averages toward cumulative, multi-shock exposure can substantially improve anticipatory action, targeting, and the effectiveness of scarce humanitarian and development resources.

The brief presents the problems associated with the headline finding from report of the High-Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on Food Security and Nutrition that of the 2.2 billion people experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity globally, 1.7 billion live in urban or peri-urban areas. It then discusses three recommended practices that can help prevent errors when reading global statistics.

This study uses FAO Data in Emergencies (DIEM) survey data from 5,396 households to examine compound vulnerability and food security in Somalia. These households have experienced a variety of simultaneous shocks, including economic, agricultural, natural, conflict-related, and idiosyncratic occurrences. This study precisely measured these shocks using both parametric and non-parametric Multi-Shock Indices. Cumulative shock exposure was low to moderate on average (13.3–14.6 percent of the maximum achievable), but there was a sizable minority at high levels of exposure: 1,142 households surpassed mean-plus-one standard deviation under the parametric MSI, while 1,350 households exceeded the 75th percentile using the non-parametric MSI. High-risk households were concentrated within vulnerable socio-demographic categories (e.g., female-headed households, less educated household heads, and displaced households) and within certain regions (e.g., Woqooyi Galbeed, Lower Shabelle, and Mudug). Inadequate food security outcomes, such as lower Food Consumption Scores, inadequate dietary diversity, and the use of crisis or emergency coping mechanisms, were closely linked to high MSI values. The parametric MSI also indicated a non-linear amplification for greater levels of cumulative exposure; specific combinations of shocks, such as increasing food prices with animal disease or lost work, had particularly powerful, detrimental impacts. In order to help vulnerable households before shocks occur, these findings emphasize the significance of shock-sensitive and tailored interventions that connect numerous shock indicators to traditional food insecurity measures.

The brief discusses best practices for the design and implementation of fertilizer subsidy programs. Careful policy design choices ensure that subsidies maximize the tangible benefits to farmers, namely yield stability and income protection, while implementing safeguards that minimize negative environmental, market, and fiscal side effects.

The brief identifies which anticipatory interventions, implemented in conflict-affected contexts of Eastern and Central Africa, have empirically demonstrated the capacity to mitigate agricultural losses, sustain food production, preserve local food availability, and enhance household resilience.