Horn of Africa Rainfall Shock and Food Crisis
Recent Developments
01January 2026: ICPAC and WMO forecast below-normal rainfall across much of the Greater Horn for the June–September 2026 season, with the strongest dry signal in central and northeastern Ethiopia and parts of South Sudan, Uganda, Sudan, and western Kenya.
02Early 2026: FAO said the October–December 2025 short rains had essentially failed in the eastern Horn, with rainfall below 60% of average in many areas and under 30% in the worst-hit locations.
03February 2026: Concern Worldwide said successive failed rains and extreme heat had caused water shortages, crop failure, food shortages, rising malnutrition, and livestock deaths across large parts of the Horn of Africa.
Interventions
- FAO is calling for urgent livelihood support to protect pastoralists and farmers after the failed rains, including measures to reduce further crop and livestock losses.
- Regional climate services from ICPAC and WMO are providing seasonal outlooks and early-warning information to help governments and humanitarian agencies prepare for drought and flood risks.
- Humanitarian agencies including Concern Worldwide are highlighting the need for emergency food, water, and nutrition support in affected areas.
What Works
- Early livelihood support during failed rainy seasons helps reduce crop and livestock losses before lean-season impacts peak.
- Climate early warning and anticipatory action are useful because the region now faces both drought and localized flood risk in the same year, allowing more targeted preparedness.
- Emergency nutrition treatment is effective where malnutrition is already rising, especially for children under five and pregnant or breastfeeding women.
How to Help
- Donate to organizations providing food, water, and nutrition assistance in the Horn of Africa.
- Support humanitarian NGOs and local partners that are delivering drought response, livestock protection, and child nutrition services.
- Advocate for rapid funding of UN and NGO response plans and for investment in drought resilience and early-warning systems.
Make an Impact
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Verified Organizations
Organizations Helping(9)
ACTED has worked in South Sudan since 2007 and, in the current crisis, serves as a site manager for IDP locations in Juba, Awerial, and Bor. Its approach combines camp/site coordination, site planning, community mobilization, and WASH services for displaced people, which helps organize safe living conditions and reduce disease and displacement-related risks.
UNICEF’s strategy is to combine direct service delivery with system strengthening, using child-focused interventions that can work at scale and in crises. Its public materials emphasize low-cost, high-impact, and sustainable solutions across health, nutrition, education, WASH, and protection, rather than isolated one-off projects.[6][2] A distinctive part of UNICEF’s approach is that it works through governments and local, national, and global partners to build or improve public systems while also reaching children immediately in emergencies. In education, for example, UNICEF both creates temporary learning centers for displaced children and helps strengthen formal education systems; in health, it pairs vaccine procurement and immunization support with disease prevention and primary care.[8][2] UNICEF also uses an equity-centered model, prioritizing children who are out of school, living in conflict zones, affected by poverty, or excluded because of gender or disability. Its programs are designed to protect children’s rights while delivering measurable outcomes such as improved survival, learning, sanitation, and protection in both stable and emergency settings.[8][6]
Mercy Corps says it works alongside communities to provide rapid relief in disasters, manage the effects of conflict and climate change, and create lasting solutions so people can thrive. Its strategy is not limited to direct aid: it combines humanitarian response with longer-term development, governance, market, and resilience programming across more than 30 countries.[6] A distinctive feature of its model is that programming is organized around interconnected drivers of vulnerability, such as food insecurity, weak governance, social exclusion, and climate stress. In its peace and governance work, Mercy Corps explicitly uses a multi-level approach that addresses societal, community, and individual dynamics through social cohesion, behavior change, civil society strengthening, mediation, and evidence learning.[2] Mercy Corps also emphasizes flexible tools such as cash and voucher assistance, market development, and technology, which are intended to help local systems function rather than replace them. This suggests a theory of change focused on restoring agency and strengthening the systems people rely on, rather than only delivering one-time services.[6]
WFP’s strategy combines immediate life-saving assistance with measures that reduce future vulnerability. In emergencies, it uses a mix of direct food aid, cash, and vouchers so assistance can be adapted to local market conditions and delivered quickly when conflict, displacement, or disaster disrupts access to food.[3][5][10] A distinctive part of WFP’s approach is that it links humanitarian response with resilience-building. It does this by pairing food assistance with community asset creation, nutrition programming, school meals, and support for social safety nets, so the same intervention can meet urgent hunger needs while strengthening local systems, infrastructure, and livelihoods over time.[3][7][10] WFP also emphasizes scale and partnership with governments. Its programmes are implemented across many countries and are designed to complement public systems, including school feeding and social protection, while using tools such as cash, market access support, and food-security data to make assistance more efficient and context-specific.[5][7]
