While the record-breaking drought of 2020-2023 has eased and conflict in the region has largely ended, Ethiopia remains in need of significant humanitarian and food aid, according to a May report from FEWS Net. Populations in the northern Tigray region and the southeastern Oromia and Somalia regions continue to experience IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) and Phase 4 (Emergency) food insecurity, which could worsen even further in the upcoming lean season.

With multiple crises plaguing food systems across the globe, Africa south of the Sahara remains particularly hard hit. As a result, policymakers and development partners in the region are faced with the need to balance sometimes conflicting priorities: ending hunger and reducing poverty, making diets healthier and more affordable, improving the productivity and livelihoods of smallholder households, and adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate change.

The mobile money revolution has begun to substantially increase financial access around the world. Mobile money accounts allow people previously excluded from the formal financial sector to access savings accounts, make payments to merchants, and make person-to-person transfers, among other services. Research has shown that mobile money access can have important effects on key outcomes such as improved resilience and food security.

In Africa south of the Sahara, the share of the population facing food insecurity is more than double that of any other region in the world, according to IFPRI’s 2023 Global Food Policy Report: Rethinking Food Crises Responses. Approximately 282 million people in Africa south of the Sahara, or around 20 percent of the population, were undernourished and food-insecure in 2021.

The long rainy season in Kenya got off to a relatively good start in March, according to an update from FEWS Net. While the precipitation has begun to replenish water levels reduced by five consecutive seasons of below-average rainfall, however, much of the country continues to struggle with the high food prices, reduced agricultural productivity, and reduced livelihoods caused by the prolonged drought.

The eastern Horn of Africa continues to experience acute hunger and food insecurity, according to FEWS Net. The region has faced multiple shocks in recent years, including a historic five-season drought, multiple conflicts, and economic shocks; all of these factors have contributed to drastically lowering agricultural and livestock productivity, reducing livelihoods, and driving poor populations into ever-worsening hunger.

Somalia will likely avoid widespread famine, due to scaled up humanitarian assistance and marginally improved rainfall; however, the situation within the country remains critical. After three consecutive years of drought, millions of Somalis are facing acute food insecurity and hunger, and the risk of famine remains in several areas of the country.

Coffee plays a central role in Ethiopia’s economic structure. An estimated 15 million Ethiopians depend on the coffee sector for their livelihoods, and the country remains the largest producer and exporter of coffee in Africa. Despite the importance of the crop for income generation and economic growth, however, only a small proportion of Ethiopian coffee farmers engage in practices that can result in higher quality beans and garner higher prices on the international market.

Access to and consumption of healthy diets, including fruits and vegetables, forms a key pillar of food security. Consumption of nutritious foods have been shown to reduce the risks of non-communicable diseases like diabetes and heart disease and to cut rates of early morbidity and mortality. Despite these benefits, however, the world’s population continues to overconsume unhealthy foods, such as those high in sugar, fats, and salt, and underconsume healthier foods.