East Africa is facing a sharp deterioration in food security as prolonged drought batters different parts of the region for the past decade according to UN.
For example, Rwanda planting season which sets off with rains at beginning of September hasn’t started.
The failed October-December 2025 rains reduced food production in southeastern Ethiopia, eastern Kenya and much of Somalia, while below-average rainfall elsewhere in the region continued to threaten agricultural production.
The United Nations has called for urgent climate adaptation by tripling of adaptation finance.
“The present funds available in the Loss and Damage Fund are ridiculously small,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said.
“Without adaptation, droughts become hunger crises, storms become debt crises, and heatwaves become killers,” added Guterres.
Guterres has called for wider access to early-warning systems as climate shocks increasingly compound hunger, displacement and economic hardships.
He said that early-warning systems should be extended to every person on Earth by 2027.
The warning from Guterres follows an analysis by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development which revealed that food insecurity has trippled in six East African states over the past decade.
According to IGAD food insecurity figures rose from 13.9 million people in 2016 to 40.3 million in 2026.
This ideally represents 34% of the population covered by the analysis, meaning more than one in three people assessed are facing high levels of acute food insecurity.
Food insecurity in East Africa is attributed to a combination of climate shocks, conflict, economic instability and displacement.
The situation is exerting pressure on governments and humanitarian agencies to move from emergency response towards prevention and resilience.
“These are not just statistics. It is a call for action,” Charity Mumbua, a food security specialist at IGAD said Thursday.
The Secretary-General warned that the world was nearing a breach of the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature limit.
