Food insecurity to affect 120 million people in Africa between June and August 2026
Disruptions to oil, gas and fertilizer flows through the Strait of Hormuz drove a 46 percent month-on-month rise in urea prices and increased agricultural price indices by 8 percent, raising the risk of an affordability crisis.
Black News 
More than 67 million people are in dire need of food assistance in East and Southern African region.
According to recent report, over 14 localities are considered at risk of famine in Sudan, and nearly 52.9 million people are projected to be acutely food insecure in West and Central Africa during the June to August 2026 lean season.
In total, hunger will hit nearly 120 million people in Africa in the course of 2026.
Global food and nutrition insecurity is increasing despite broadly stable supplies of major staples.
Since the last update in March 2026, agricultural and cereal price indices have risen by 3 and 4 percent, respectively.
Conflict and climate shocks are said to continue being the primary drivers of acute food insecurity across the globe.
The Middle East conflict is further increasing risks to food security.
Disruptions to oil, gas and fertilizer flows through the Strait of Hormuz drove a 46 percent month-on-month rise in urea prices and increased agricultural price indices by 8 percent, raising the risk of an affordability crisis.
The World Bank (WB) Commodity Markets Outlook projects that fertilizer prices will rise by 31 percent on average in 2026, reaching their least affordable levels since 2022.
A 61 to 87 percent probability of El Niño emerging by mid-2026 and continuing into 2027 could make the situation worse by threatening crop production in South Asia, Southern Africa, and parts of East Asia, with rice output potentially falling by 20 to 50 percent.
Since the last update in March 2026, agricultural and cereal prices indices have increased by 3 and 4 percent, respectively, while the export price index has decreased by 4 percent.
Maize and wheat prices, which closed 5 and 11 percent higher, respectively, are driving the increase in the cereal price index, and rice prices closed 5 percent lower.
On a year-on-year basis, average prices for wheat and maize are 19 and 5 percent higher, respectively, and rice prices are 6 percent lower.
Maize and wheat prices are 23 and 18 percent higher, respectively, than in January 2020, and rice prices are 6 percent lower.
Domestic food price inflation remained moderately high between January and March 2026.
Data for this period indicates a slight deterioration in low-income countries, resulting in a higher share of countries with food inflation above 5 percent (40.0 percent to 45.0 percent).
On the other hand, conditions improved in lower-middle-income countries (from 40.8 percent to 36.7 percent), upper-middle-income countries (from 34.0 percent to 29.8 percent), and high-income countries (from 6.8 percent to 5.1 percent). Regional patterns were similarly uneven.
Latin America, the Caribbean and South Asia experienced an increase in food inflation, whereas Europe and Central Asia and parts of Africa generally saw moderate increases, although several countries in Eastern and Southern Africa continued to record double-digit food inflation.
In real terms, food price inflation outpaced overall inflation (based on year-on-year changes in the overall consumer price index) in 14 percent of the 148 countries where data is available, underscoring pressure on household purchasing power in those countries.
