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Food supply

Escalating Humanitarian Crisis in DRC: 26.6 Million People at Risk of Food Insecurity by 2026

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) have sounded the alarm on the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with acute food insecurity projected to affect 26.6 million people by early 2026. This represents a significant increase from the current figures of 24.8 million people facing crisis levels of food insecurity or worse. The crisis is most severe in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Tanganyika, where ongoing violence, population displacement, and limited humanitarian access have worsened food insecurity.

Key Takeaways:

  • The FAO and WFP warn of an escalating humanitarian crisis in the DRC, with 26.6 million people projected to face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse by early 2026.
  • The crisis is most severe in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Tanganyika, where 10 million people are expected to face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse by January 2026.
  • Malnutrition rates remain high, with nearly half of all children under five (approximately 3.2 million) being stunted due to chronic undernutrition.
  • The FAO requires US$127 million to scale up support and assist around 2.4 million people in 2026, while WFP's country operation faces a US$349 million funding gap through April 2026.
  • The IPC analysis shows that 3.9 million people are in emergency levels of hunger (IPC Phase 4), an increase of 700,000 since March 2025.
  • 3 million people in the eastern provinces are already experiencing emergency levels of hunger, representing 75 percent of all those in such conditions nationwide.
  • FAO's goal is to achieve food security for all and ensure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.

Statistics:

  • 26.6 million people are projected to face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse by early 2026.
  • 10 million people in the eastern provinces are expected to face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse by January 2026.
  • 3.9 million people are in emergency levels of hunger (IPC Phase 4) by early 2026.
  • 3 million people in the eastern provinces are already experiencing emergency levels of hunger.
  • 75 percent of all people in emergency levels of hunger (IPC Phase 4) are in the eastern provinces.
  • 3.2 million children under five are stunted due to chronic undernutrition.
  • FAO requires US$127 million to scale up support and assist around 2.4 million people in 2026.
  • WFP's country operation faces a US$349 million funding gap through April 2026.

Sources:

  • Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
  • United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)

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