Addis Abeba – Ethiopia is expected to remain among the five countries with the largest populations in need of urgent humanitarian food assistance by mid-2026, even as overall food assistance needs show a projected decline compared to last year, according to the latest outlook by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) released this month.
FEWS NET projects that between 15.0 and 15.9 million people in Ethiopia, equivalent to 10–15 percent of the national population, will face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or Emergency (IPC Phase 4) levels of acute food insecurity in July 2026.
Ethiopia is expected to account for more than 10 percent of total global food assistance needs across FEWS NET-monitored countries, alongside Sudan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Yemen.
“In July, food assistance needs are expected to approach their annual peak,” FEWS NET said, warning that Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes are expected in the lowlands of East Haraghe due to the protracted impacts of drought,” while conflict-affected areas of Amhara, Tigray, and Afar are likely to remain in Crisis (IPC Phase 3).
