Southern and Eastern Africa

Regional overview

The Southern and Eastern Africa region is home to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis with Sudan alone accounting for ten per cent of the global total of people in need. Climate change, conflict, political instability, disease, and economic shocks are driving humanitarian needs across the region. In 2026, more than 56 million people are estimated to need humanitarian assistance, representing 24 per cent of the global humanitarian caseload and a decrease compared to 2025, mainly as flash appeals in the region expired. The number is expected to rise in 2026 due to the ongoing conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Mozambique, protracted climate hazards, deteriorating economies and exacerbating food insecurity and diseases. Funding cuts have massively affected the humanitarian response, leading many humanitarian organizations to scale or shut down operations and make tough choices to reprioritize people they target. In 2026, more than $7 billion is required to meet the needs of more than 34 million people targeted for assistance.

Conflict

Conflicts continue to escalate, becoming more fragmented in nature, threatening to destabilize the entire region. Humanitarian space is constrained by expanding and intensifying conflicts, as the reduced humanitarian footprint shrinks. With some of the peacekeeping missions as well as partner presence scaling down, mainly in Eastern Africa, the operating environment will likely become more restricted. In Sudan, escalating conflict has triggered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, resulting in 9.5 million¹ people internally displaced and 4.3 million refugees. In South Sudan, unresolved political tensions and violence risk tipping the country into large-scale catastrophe. In 2025, the country has been ranked as the second² most dangerous country to be an aid worker. Meanwhile, conflict continues in Ethiopia’s Amhara and Oromia regions, while tensions in Tigray risk worsening the humanitarian situation. The spillover effects of the war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have led to an increase in refugees and asylum seekers in Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda. In Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, violence has forced over 200,000 people to flee their homes in 2025.

Group of children seated under a shelter while two individuals stand at the front, one holding a large illustrated board, during an outdoor educational or awareness session in a rural setting.

Malakal, South Sudan

South Sudanese who recently returned from Sudan, reside in Bulukat transit centre, receiving an awareness session on nutrition by a local partner.

OCHA/ Basma Ourfali

Climate

The region continues to be adversely affected by the impact of climate change with three of the ten³ most impacted countries in the world (Eritrea, Sudan, and Somalia) in Eastern Africa. In 2025, Southern Africa is still recovering following the 2024 El Niño–induced drought. Tropical Cyclones caused heavy rains, flooding, infrastructure damage and displacement. Across several countries, agricultural production fell below average, while high food prices eroded household purchasing power. The climatic projection for the October–December and January–March periods indicates above-average rainfall, which is favorable for agriculture but may also result in flooding and disease outbreaks amid projections of increased cyclonic activity.

At the same time, Eastern Africa has experienced severe flooding. In South Sudan, floods affected over 1 million people and caused widespread damage, while landslides in Kenya and Uganda resulted in multiple deaths and destruction of homes. The forecast for the October–December (OND) 2025 rainfall season indicates a high likelihood of below-normal rainfall across much of the eastern and southern sectors of the Greater Horn of Africa region (including southern Ethiopia, eastern Kenya, central to southern Tanzania, and much of Somalia), raising concerns about possible drought and food insecurity.

Disease

The region continues to grapple with major diseases, including cholera, malaria, mpox and measles. More than 52⁴ per cent of the global cholera caseload is in the region, with Eastern Africa alone accounting for more than one-third of global cases. South Sudan recorded the highest number of cases in the region, followed by Sudan and Angola. Also, mpox cases continue to be reported in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, with Burundi accounting for the highest mpox caseload in the region. With impacts on international funding used to bolster health services and systems, Governments will increasingly be left to respond independently to disease outbreaks and health crises using basic service networks with incomplete reach to people in need.

Mozambique

Current People in Need

1.6 million
Current People Targeted

1.1 million
Current Requirements (US$)

$347.6 million

Go to plan details (HNRP)

People in Need at launch (Dec. 2025)

1.6 million

People Targeted at launch (Dec. 2025)

1.1 million

Requirements (US$) at launch (Dec. 2025)

347.6 million

People urgently prioritized

919.5 thousand

Urgently prioritized requirements (US$)

265.3 million

Crisis overview

Mozambique is facing a deeply neglected crisis where humanitarian needs are rising rapidly amid worsening violence and repeated climate shocks. In 2025, Mozambique continued to face the compounded impact of protracted armed conflict in Cabo Delgado, with two incidents of violence against civilians every day, and growing insecurity spreading beyond the province. Over the year, the humanitarian situation deteriorated sharply as non-State armed groups expanded their operations across 17 districts of Cabo Delgado and into parts of Nampula and Niassa Provinces, carrying out increasingly coordinated attacks and triggering new waves of displacement.

Violence against civilians surged to record levels, reaching its highest point since 2023. More than 208,000 people were newly displaced by mid-October 2025, in the heels of cyclone Chido having devastated the province in December 2024, overwhelming local response capacities. While some families sought refuge in displacement sites, most were hosted by already vulnerable communities or hid intermittently in nearby forests to escape attacks, thus creating a pendular displacement movement.

Two women pose together holding bags of seeds during a distribution event.

Cabo Delgado, Mozambique

Women in Mecúfi District collect seed packs as part of emergency agricultural assistance supporting recovery after conflict and Cyclone Chido.

FAO/María Legaristi Royo

The surge in violence sharply increased protection risks, especially gender-based violence (GBV), sexual exploitation, and loss of livelihoods. Women and girls, constituting over half of those displaced, are disproportionately affected, facing insecurity, early marriage, and restricted access to education, livelihoods, and health. Limited access to reproductive health services and safe spaces compounds women’s vulnerability, with reported increases in unintended pregnancies and maternal health complications due to disrupted services. Additionally, many women have become sole heads of households after male family members were killed, abducted, or forcibly recruited.

Grave violations against children rose by 525 per cent compared with the previous year, including widespread abductions and forced recruitment and use by armed groups. Despite a favorable agricultural season, IPC projections indicate a rise in food insecurity during the upcoming lean season (October 2025-March 2026), with an estimated 2.67 million people expected to face crisis or worse food insecurity levels (IPC Phase 3+), including 170,000 projected to fall into Emergency levels (IPC Phase 4). Access to essential services remained insufficient to meet the needs.

A landscape of snapped and fallen palm trees, showing destruction likely caused by a cyclone.

Cabo Delgado, Mozambique

Severely damaged palm trees and debris scattered across the landscape show the extensive destruction left behind after Cyclone Chido in Mecúfi District.

FAO/María Legaristi Royo

The figure for people in need (PIN) in 2026 has increased by a quarter, reflecting the worsening impact of the conflict on communities’ well-being. The conflict has not only affected those who had returned home but has also caused new displacements. The districts most severely impacted—Ancuabe, Chiure, Macomia, Mueda, Muidumbe, Mocimboa da Praia, Nangade, and Quissanga—are being prioritized for life-saving and protection assistance. However, ongoing insecurity underscores the need for a flexible and agile response to reach affected populations across northern Mozambique.

Weather projections indicate that warmer ocean temperatures in the southwest Indian region are likely to contribute to increased cyclonic activity. During the 2026/2027 rainy and cyclonic season, an estimated 2.7 million people are at risk, with early projections indicating between 9 and 14 tropical systems, six of which could reach tropical cyclone strength.

The humanitarian team in Mozambique, monitor hazards through the Emergency Response and Preparedness (ERP) Plan, which outlines preparedness activities and supports government-led assistance, and Flash Appeals may be launched if an event exceeds the response capacity of the affected government and local partners.

Response priorities and financial requirements for 2026

In response to the conflict, the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) will target areas facing the highest severity of needs, particularly those most affected by violence against civilians, displacement (including forced returns), and extensive infrastructure damage because of conflict and cyclones.

The response will prioritize lifesaving, multisectoral assistance for internally displaced people (IDPs), returnees, and crisis-affected host communities, with an explicit focus on addressing the distinct and intersecting needs of women, men, girls, and boys.

Core interventions will include protection services, emergency education, shelter, food assistance, treatment for acute malnutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) support.

Special emphasis will be placed on gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response, including psychosocial support and case management, alongside emergency obstetric and reproductive health care to ensure safe deliveries and continuity of maternal services. Recognizing that women and girls face heightened risks of GBV, early marriage, and exploitation, the response will also expand access to dignity kits, safe spaces, and community-based protection networks that empower women as agents of resilience and recovery.

An older woman wearing a patterned headscarf holds a small child in her arms, both standing outdoors with a crowd of women and children gathered in the background.

Cabo Delgado, Mozambique

Julieta, 55, brings her grandson Evanilson, 2, to a mobile health brigade in Chiúre District, one of the few accessible sources of health and nutrition support for displaced families in the Chimoio community.

UNICEF/Ricardo Franco

Aligned with the humanitarian reset, the 2026 response will focus on life-saving priorities, complemented by selective life-sustaining and livelihood activities that strengthen coping capacities and prevent further deterioration of vulnerabilities. Livelihood recovery efforts—such as cash-for-work, vocational skills for women and youth, and agricultural support—will aim to restore dignity, promote self-reliance, and reduce protection risks linked to economic insecurity. Implementation will be locally led, inclusive, and adaptive, placing affected communities especially women and youth at the center of decision-making.

The geographical scope of the 2026 HNRP builds on the hyper-prioritized districts identified in March 2025—Nangade, Muidumbe, Macomia, Mocímboa da Praia, and Quissanga—and expands to include Ancuabe, Chiúre, and Mueda, where the Joint Intersectoral Analysis Framework (JIAF) identified the highest levels of severity. This expanded focus reflects the worsening operational environment and the growing concentration of humanitarian needs across northern Mozambique. Sustained consultation with government institutions and development actors will be central to rebuilding infrastructure and re-establishing essential services disrupted by the conflict.

A young woman wearing sits outdoors at a small wooden table, preparing work gloves beside a set of tools including pliers, screwdrivers and a hammer.

Cabo Delgado, Mozambique

Fatima, 18, takes part in the CUIDA Project in Nanjua, Ibo District, gaining skills and support through local child protection and psychosocial services for children affected by conflict and displacement.

UNICEF/AVSI

Implementation of the 2026 HNRP will follow a locally led, inclusive, and flexible approach that places affected communities at the center of decision-making. Guided by the localization agenda, women-led and community-based organizations will be supported through direct funding and meaningful participation in planning and monitoring. A strong gender lens will guide all actions, emphasizing the participation of women and girls, including GBV survivors, and ensuring that Women-Led Organizations are active in decision-making. The response will uphold commitments to gender equality, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), and accountability to affected populations. To maximize efficiency, the HNRP will promote the use of multipurpose cash assistance and strengthened common pipelines and supply chains to deliver principled, timely, and gender-responsive humanitarian assistance that saves lives and supports community resilience.

2025 in review: response highlights and consequences of inaction

Response highlights

In 2025, the humanitarian response in Mozambique continued to face significant challenges. As of the end of September, around 931,000 people had received some form of assistance—about 85 per cent of the targeted population (1.1M) in Cabo Delgado. The achievement represented approximately a 33 per cent decline compared to the 1.4 million people reached during the same period in 2024, underscoring a broader reduction in operational capacity.

Most of the current outreach was attributed to the Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster, which has reached 500,000 people, though food distributions are reduced to every two months and cover only 39 per cent of caloric needs. The agriculture and livelihoods component of FSL cluster has reached 87,000 people. Excluding food assistance, the number of people drops sharply to 526,000. Within this, 413,461 people have received multi-sectoral support across Health, WASH, and Shelter, while 312,183 children accessed Education, Nutrition, and Child Protection services. 

A man smiles while holding a small child in his arms and displaying a health card.

Cabo Delgado, Mozambique

Eurico holds his 18-month-old son Amisse, who has recovered from malnutrition after receiving monthly screenings and nutrition support through the Integrated Nutrition Package.

UNICEF/Ricardo Franco

In 2025, funding available has significantly dropped: a total of $73 million has been received against requirements of $352 million, half of the contributions received in 2024. At the same time, the number of implementing organizations has reduced from 78 to 63 partners (28 INGOs, 23 NNGOs, 8 government bodies, and 4 UN agencies). Local and national actors account for nearly half of all interventions.

Geographic coverage showed that response is concentrated in districts facing severity 4 needs (490,000 people reached of the 408,000 targeted), followed by severity 3 areas (411,000 of 644,000 targeted), with very limited coverage in severity 2 zones (29,000 of 45,000 targeted). When food assistance is excluded, humanitarian programmes in severity 4 districts reached 165,000 people.

Due to the dramatic drop in funding, the 2025 HNRP was hyper-prioritised in March this year with the districts of Macomia, Muidumbe, Nangade, Quissanga identified as highest priority. The granular analysis of the response in these districts indicates that assistance remained heavily concentrated in food security, with limited delivery of multi-sectoral support. Critical needs in shelter, health, WASH, and protection continue to be severely underfunded. There was no consistent scale-up across clusters through midyear as all clusters remain severely underfunded, with available resources ranging from 1 to 28 per cent of requirements.

Consequences of funding cuts

Multiple converging crises

Mozambique stands at the crossroads of multiple converging crises, where the consequences of delayed or insufficient action are measured not only in financial terms, but in human lives and dignity

Conflict

The conflict in Cabo Delgado continues to deteriorate

Drought

The country is reeling from the effects of a prolonged El Niño-induced drought, which resulted in 4.89 million people projected to experience IPC Phase 3+ (crisis or worse), including about 912,000 at Emergency (IPC 4) levels, in October 2024-March 2025.

Cholera

Mozambique is grappling with a major cholera outbreak, with nearly 4,500 new cases reported between October 2024 and July 2025.

Women and girls

Women and girls continue to bear the brunt of Mozambique’s humanitarian crisis.

Underfunding

As of July 2025, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP), which seeks $352 is only 19 per cent funded, having received $66 million.

A group of women farmers stand in an open field.

Sofala, Mozambique

Farmers trained through the Farmer Field School approach and use drought-resistant seeds to improve their crops and strengthen community resilience.

FAO/María Legaristi Royo

Somalia

People in Need at launch (Dec. 2025)

4.8 million

People Targeted at launch (Dec. 2025)

2.4 million

Requirements (US$) at launch (Dec. 2025)

850 million

People urgently prioritized

1.6 million

Urgently prioritized requirements (US$)

350 million

Crisis overview

Somalia continues to face severe humanitarian challenges driven by climate shocks, conflict, and disease outbreaks. In 2025, a prolonged drought in northern regions due to below-average Gu rains (April to June), has resulted in worsening food insecurity, severe water scarcity, lack of pasture, increased migration of pastoralists and heightened protection risks. Forecast of below-average Deyr rains (October to December) are expected to further heighten needs into early 2026.

According to the 2025 post-Gu IPC analysis, 4.4 million people are projected to face acute food insecurity, including 921,000 in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), a 35 per cent increase from 2024. Key drivers of food insecurity include conflict, climate shocks, high food prices, and reduced humanitarian assistance.

Disease outbreaks remain critical with 46,000 measles, 81,000 cholera, and 483,000 malaria cases reported up to October 2025. Nearly 3 million people are vulnerable to measles due to low immunization and poor living conditions. Cholera transmission persists in Banadir and Kismayo; diphtheria surged with 140 cases in September. Funding shortfalls are reducing response coverage and exacerbating vulnerability.

A water truck delivers water while a man fills a collection point through a hose.

Hiran, Somalia

Drought-affected pastoral households are provided with water by trucking services.

SCI Somalia

The nutrition situation has deteriorated. About 1.85 million children under five will suffer from acute malnutrition (August 2025–July 2026), including 421,000 severely malnourished, a 16 per cent increase from last year. Access to education has declined, with 62 per cent of school-aged children out of school in 2025, up from 56 per cent in 2024.

Displacement has risen sharply, with 680,000 displaced in 2025, totalling 3.3 million internally displaced persons in Somalia. Evictions affected 150,000 people, while nearly 200,000 remain at high risk due to tenure insecurity. Protection risks are high, with 648 children (178 girls) verified and reported as recruited and used in armed conflict between January and June 2025 and widespread gender-based violence (GBV).

In 2026, 4.8 million people in Somalia need humanitarian assistance, a 20 per cent decrease from 2025. However, this reduction does not reflect improved conditions. Instead, it stems from a more stringent scope-setting approach that identified 7.5 million shock-affected individuals (45 per cent of the population) in 64 districts versus 90 districts last year.

Pockets of vulnerable populations excluded from the humanitarian caseload will be supported by resilience and development actors. These include individuals facing chronic food insecurity and internally displaced people without durable solutions in sight. Given their high vulnerability, the absence of targeted support—particularly in the form of resilience-building and long-term solutions—risks triggering a deepening humanitarian crisis.

Response priorities and financial requirements for 2026

The 2026 humanitarian response in Somalia will be hyper-prioritized, focusing exclusively on life-saving interventions for the most vulnerable people.

A total of 2.4 million people are targeted for humanitarian assistance in 2026, a 47 per cent decrease from 4.57 million in 2025. This reduction reflects a narrower operational scope rather than improved conditions . Humanitarian actors will require an estimated $850 million to deliver the most prioritized response, representing a 40 per cent reduction from $1.42 billion last year. Humanitarian needs are now more concentrated and severe, with 63 per cent of people in need located in just 16 districts. Low funding levels and access constraints will limit the response to less than half of the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) targeted people, underscoring the importance of maintaining realistic high-impact interventions focused on saving lives and sustaining essential services.

In 2026, the humanitarian response prioritizes 1.6 million people facing extreme inter-sectoral Severity 4 conditions. The response will be less clusterized, emphasizing coordinated, cross-sectoral interventions tailored to the most critical needs. Community consultations and engagement will be central to identifying local priorities. These community-driven insights will be reflected in the HNRP and monitored throughout the 2026 implementation period to ensure accountability and responsiveness. Area-based coordination will be strengthened to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the response in the prioritized districts.

A woman in a green headscarf holds a small child while a worker measures the child’s arm with a MUAC tape.

Gedo, Somalia

Xawo, 20, holds her 9-month-old baby, Xabso, at a Targeted Supplementary Feeding Programme (TSFP) centre.

OCHA

With the closure of the United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS) and anticipated reductions in United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) and African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) capacities, humanitarian actors must engage all relevant parties to the conflict—including non-state actors—to negotiate access and overcome operational barriers through localized access strategies.

Close monitoring, flexible access strategies, and concerted efforts to stay and deliver will be essential during this transition. The humanitarian response is also informed by prevailing risks, including drought and conflict. With a potential for a La Niña event to trigger drought-like conditions, the response must anticipate emerging needs and make investments to mitigate adverse impacts and prevent erosion of community resilience. Strategic partnerships and humanitarian development peace collaboration will be pivotal in averting escalation in humanitarian needs.

2025 in review: Response highlights and consequences of inaction

Response highlights

As of September 2025, under the Humanitarian Reset, 252 organizations delivered lifesaving and protection assistance to approximately 1.3 million people, representing 29 percent of the 4.57 million people targeted nationwide, including populations in the 32 prioritized districts⁶. Food security partners alone delivered lifesaving food and cash assistance to 1.3 million vulnerable people. Partners applied vulnerability-based targeting in accordance with the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) policies on registration, targeting, data-sharing, and referrals.

Protection partners supported over 254,000 people with specialized services, including community-based protection, psychosocial support, individual assistance, referrals, and case management. To contain the measles outbreak, health partners have vaccinated 334,300 children as of September 2025. In response to the Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD)/cholera outbreak, approximately 339,000 people gained access to improved sanitation services through the construction and rehabilitation of emergency and communal latrines, solid waste management campaigns, and the distribution of sanitation tools. Education Cluster partners supported 168,000 crisis-affected children and over 5,000 teachers across 775 learning spaces, providing education and essential services like food, water, and sanitation.

The Logistics Cluster significantly expanded its operation in 2025, accessing 19 hard-to-reach locations—nearly five times more than in 2024—and delivering over 800 metric tons of life-saving cargo. This was achieved through targeted coordination, infrastructure assessments, and strategic interventions, including the opening of new corridors and lifting of blockades in some besieged areas in Southwest State. UNHAS supported the humanitarian community by transporting 5,823 passengers and over 68 metric tons of cargo to more than 25 locations, including remote sites inaccessible by road.

A group of women and children sit and stand close together outdoors as several humanitarian workers speak with them.

Mudug, Somali

OCHA Somalia’s Galkaayo Sub-office and cluster leads meet with drought-displaced communities.

OCHA

Consequences of funding cuts

Severe funding cuts in 2025 forced the HCT to reduce its target population from 4.6 million to 1.3 million, a 72 per cent decrease. Food Security Cluster partners reduced transfer values, reduced duration of assistance, and cut caseloads by 70 per cent, leaving over 600,000 vulnerable people—mainly in IPC Phase 4 areas—without critical food assistance. Emergency agriculture and livestock assistance to over 600,000 people living in rural and underserved areas has also been further impacted by constraining local food production. Nutrition services declined by 39 per cent compared to 2024. Over 60,500 children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) missed treatment, alongside 140,000 moderately malnourished children and 17,000 pregnant or lactating women. If funding gaps persist, 150,000 children with SAM may remain unreached.

Only 273,000 people received multipurpose cash assistance, just 29 per cent of the annual target. More than 200 health facilities have closed, and mobile teams have been disbanded. The anticipated withdrawal of additional development assistance to health facilities threatens services in 300 more facilities in the next 2–3 months.⁷ Pipeline breaks in cash and voucher assistance, critical nutrition supplies and essential medicines in December 2025 /January 2026 put 600,000 people at risk of losing vital food assistance, approximately 84,000 children with severe acute malnutrition may remain untreated, while 800,000 people may be denied essential health services—reversing gains in maternal and child health. Urgent funding and coordinated humanitarian action are critical to prevent widespread suffering and escalating mortality.

Protection services were halved, affecting 1.7 million people, including 600,000 children and 220,000 from marginalized groups. GBV services declined sharply, with 75 centers closed. Education cluster partners assisted 87,000 fewer children than in 2024, and 477 learning spaces were closed due to funding cuts and reduced partner capacity. Over 80 per cent of the targeted population lacked adequate shelter. CCCM partners ceased operations in 15 districts, suspending services for 900,000 IDPs. Key disruptions included halted tracking, reduced site management, and cancelled climate resilience activities—leaving critical needs unmet.

Aid in Action

Maryama’s story : resilience in the wake of displacement

Maryama, a mother of nine, has faced years of hardship as an internally displaced person (IDP) in Somalia. In 2000, she fled her hometown of Waajid due to drought and conflict, settling in Siliga camp in Garowe, Puntland State. Life there was unstable, and she was eventually evicted from her shelter, forcing her family to move again. Tired of constant displacement, Maryama and others saved money to buy land near Jilab camp. “I managed to save $300,” she said. Now, her family lives in a shelter made of wood and mats. Owning land brought some peace, but the area lacks basic services—no clean water, latrines, schools, or healthcare.

Maryama fears for her safety and that of other women. “I am afraid every time I leave the shelter,” she said, citing gender-based violence and venomous snakes in the area. Her story reflects the struggles of thousands of IDPs in Garowe, who live without shelter, services, or security. Women, children, people with disability and minority groups bear the brunt of displacements and evictions. Around 3.3 million people are displaced in Somalia, many due to the impact of climate shocks and conflict, and rely entirely on humanitarian assistance. Maryama’s community, for example, needs sanitation, water, education, and healthcare assistance. “We are grateful for the land,” she said, “but our children deserve better.

South Sudan

Current People in Need

9.9 million
Current People Targeted

4.3 million
Current Requirements (US$)

$1.46 billion

Go to plan details

People in Need at launch (Dec. 2025)

10 million

People Targeted at launch (Dec. 2025)

4.3 million

Requirements (US$) at launch (Dec. 2025)

1.5 billion

People urgently prioritized

4.1 million

Urgently prioritized requirements (US$)

1.0 billion

Crisis overview

South Sudan is facing a complex, multi-layered convergence of humanitarian, economic, political, security, health and environmental crises. Civilians are caught in relentless cycles of violence and neglect, as the emergency intensifies with extreme levels of acute food insecurity, climate shocks, disease outbreaks, mass displacement, and cross-border pressures from the Sudan crisis. The humanitarian crisis, with over 10 million people in need, representing two-thirds of South Sudan’s population, is inseparable from the country’s unresolved political turmoil. Over 7.5 million people (53 per cent of the analysed population) are projected to face crisis or worse levels of hunger (IPC Phase 3 or above) during the 2026 lean season from April to July. Malnutrition remains critically high and continues as a persistent challenge. Some 2.1 million children aged 6–59 months are expected to suffer acute malnutrition and be in urgent need of nutrition services and treatment up to June 2026. Additionally, around 1.1 million pregnant and lactating women are at risk of malnutrition and in need of treatment during the same period, a 4 per cent increase from the previous year.

Since 2019, annual flooding has affected communities, with over 1 million people impacted each year. As of November 2025, over 1 million people were affected by floods across six of the ten states. An estimated 2.6 million people remain internally displaced, many of whom have endured protracted displacement for over a decade. In 2025 alone, over 675,000 people have been newly displaced due to renewed conflict between Government forces and opposition groups, intercommunal conflict, and floods. The Sudan crisis continues to impact South Sudan, with a cumulative 1.3 million people arriving in South Sudan as of November, and many more expected in 2026 if the Sudan crisis remains unresolved. South Sudan is facing the worst cholera outbreak in its history, with over 95,000 cases recorded since September 2024. While nearly 1,600 people have died, more than 94,000 (98%) of all cases have recovered.

A group of people sitting on a makeshift raft loaded with bags, floating on water

Fashoda County, South Sudan

Families displaced by the flood are relocating to higher ground for safety.

Health Care Foundation South Sudan/Kum Chany

Funding shortfalls and access constraints are increasingly limiting the humanitarian response. Despite soaring needs, funding is rapidly dwindling. As of the end of November 2025, the 2025 South Sudan HNRP was only 41 per cent funded. In addition, humanitarian access is shrinking due to repeated attacks on aid workers and assets, recurrent imposition of bureaucratic impediments, and severe funding shortfalls. These conditions are rendering the response increasingly unsustainable and leaving vulnerable communities dangerously exposed. The number of people in need has increased from 9.3 million in 2025 to 10 million in 2026 due to renewed conflict, floods, disease outbreaks, and the continuous influx of people from Sudan.

The overall response was heavily constrained by access challenges in some of the key priority response locations, especially Upper Nile and Western Equatoria states. Although most of the priority 1 and 2 counties (locations with the greatest needs) are in Upper Nile State, partners were only able to reach 30 per cent of the targeted population in the state, due to ongoing fighting, including intermittent aerial bombardment and insecurity in some parts of the state.

Response priorities and financial requirements for 2026

In 2026, the humanitarian response in South Sudan will focus on delivering a further targeted, principled, and accountable response under the framework of the Humanitarian Reset, emphasizing impact over scale. The boundaries of the response have been defined through a rigorous intersectoral analysis, prioritizing lifesaving and time-critical assistance while strengthening linkages with resilience and development actors.

The number of people targeted in 2026 will decrease from 5.4 million to 4.3 million, reflecting a deliberate focus on those facing the most acute needs. Priority counties have shifted based on the 2025 shock impacts and updated intersectoral analysis. Some previously prioritized counties have been deprioritized due to improved access or stabilized conditions, while others, Nasir, Ulang, and Fangak emerged as intersectoral severity level 5 for the first time since the introduction of the JIAF 2.0 methodology, signifying a sharp deterioration in specific riverine and flood-prone areas. All counties will be continuously analyzed during 2026, and priorities will be adjusted as and when necessary.

A person holding a baby while another person administers an injection

Renk County, South Sudan

A child displaced by the conflict in Sudan is screened for malnutrition at a UNICEF-supported clinic.

UNICEF/Mark Naftalin

The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) has therefore targeted only priority 1–3 counties, where needs are most acute, considering the anticipated low funding levels in 2026. Populations in lower-severity or limited-access areas will instead be referred to targeted recovery and development mechanisms and partner stabilization frameworks. The HCT will implement initiatives aligned with the Humanitarian Reset Roadmap, including positioning Cash and Voucher Assistance as the primary response modality, promoting localization, and ensuring equitable partnerships with national actors. The joint UNCT-HCT collective outcome, enhancing resilience and self-reliance of vulnerable populations through food security, basic services, durable solutions, peace and governance, and shock response, will guide programming through area-based coordination approaches. This will ensure a cohesive stance in discussions with the Government, while strategically leveraging the situation to press for increased national accountability in addressing the needs of its own population.

The prioritized financial requirement for 2026 is $1.04 billion, of the $1.46 billion overall requirement, which is on par with the 2025 prioritized requirement of $1.03 billion from the $1.69 billion overall 2025 ask. Although the cost of humanitarian operations has risen significantly due to inflation, fuel shortages, currency depreciation, and logistical challenges, with food and transport prices up over 500 per cent since 2023, the reduction reflects a reset toward ensuring the most critical, life-saving interventions are conducted.

While boundary-setting means that moderate-need populations will not receive direct humanitarian assistance, humanitarian actors will work closely with development and peace actors to promote recovery and resilience pathways, ensuring the response remains principled, strategic, and adaptive to evolving needs.

2025 in review: response highlights and consequences of inaction

Response highlights

Humanitarian Response

By the end of December, partners are projected to have reached 3.9 million people (74 per cent of the original target of 5.4 million) with some form of humanitarian assistance.

Life Saving

Due to funding constraints, partners prioritized life-saving needs in priority 1 and 2 counties with partial assistance.

Response Analysis

In March/April, the HCT reprioritized the response and reduced the target population from 5.4 million people to about 3 million. In addition, clusters also reviewed their responses and only provided partial assistance to the reprioritized target population.