Famine is the most severe form of food insecurity. It happens when widespread food shortages lead to acute malnutrition, starvation and death.
The food crisis in Africa is driven by multiple causes, from conflict and drought to economic instability.
Children are hit the hardest by hunger and famine, facing malnutrition, disease, interrupted education and long-term impacts on their health and well-being.
Families in Africa are the most at risk of hunger. Recent data from the World Health Organization shows that 1 in 5 people face hunger across the continent. Food insecurity, or limited access to nutritious food, affects millions of lives and remains one of Africa’s most urgent challenges.
This food crisis in Africa is driven by many factors, from conflict to extreme weather. In some regions, these challenges can become so severe that they lead to famine, the most extreme form of food insecurity.
Together, let’s explore famine in Africa, its causes, history, impact and what we can do to help children in need.
What Is Famine?
Food insecurity has different levels, all impacting communities in different ways. For example, countries like Nigeria and Ethiopia are experiencing severe food insecurity where families struggle to get enough food and need urgent assistance. In many communities, families may be forced to skip meals or reduce portion sizes to make limited food supplies last longer.
Sudan, however, has crossed into famine conditions in some areas. Famine is the most extreme stage of food insecurity, involving widespread starvation, acute malnutrition and a significant risk of death. At this level, families go days without eating, children face life-threatening health effects and hunger-related deaths become increasingly common.
During famine, people are no longer simply at risk of hunger — hunger is already causing widespread suffering and loss of life. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a region suffers from famine when:
At least 20% of households face an extreme lack of food.
At least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition.
Two or more adults or four or more children under 5 per 10,000 die each day from starvation, malnutrition or other diseases resulting from hunger.
A Brief History of Famine in Africa
Famine has affected communities across Africa for generations. Here are some of the major modern famine events that have shaped the continent’s history.
1968 to 1973: The Great Sahelian drought led to famine throughout West Africa, affecting countries like Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso. The crisis devastated many family’s livelihoods, with an estimated one-third of the region’s livestock lost and tens of thousands of people dying from hunger and related causes.
1980s: The Ethiopian Famine is one of the most well-known famines in modern history. A combination of drought, conflict and economic challenges led to widespread hunger and many people losing their lives. It’s estimated that one million people died from malnutrition, starvation and disease.
1990s to 2000s: Several African countries continued to experience food crises driven by drought, widespread conflict and displacement, including Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
2011 to 2012: The Horn of Africa Famine affected millions across countries like Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. During the famine driven primarily by severe drought, thousands of people lost their lives, many of them children.
2020s: Regional and global conflicts, inflation, weather extremes, a global pandemic and other challenges continue to leave tens of millions at risk of acute food insecurity across Africa.
Learn more about the history of hunger in Africa.
The African Food Crisis in Compassion-Served Countries
Although many of these crises are now part of history, hunger remains a reality for countless families today. Countries Compassion serves continue to face food insecurity driven by these same challenges, affecting millions of children and their families.
Throughout Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, our local church partners have witnessed a steady increase* in the number of families who need help accessing safe and nutritious food. The three main causes of their need continue to be armed conflict, economic shocks and extreme weather.
Sadly, families living in these countries are being forced to make impossible choices just to survive. Some are skipping meals for days, while others are leaving home in search of food. In these vulnerable situations, adults and children face an increased risk of exploitation and abuse, as they may accept dangerous work, unsafe living conditions or false promises of support in the hope of finding their next meal.
*Based on data gathered between July and September 2026.
Africa and Food: A Crisis That Hurts Children the Most
When food crises strike, children suffer the greatest consequences. The effects of childhood hunger are severe, impacting their health, development, education and overall well-being for years to come. How?
Children are still growing: Children need nutritious food to grow as God intended. When food is scarce, they’re more likely to develop malnutrition, hindering their physical growth and brain development and threatening their lives. Sadly, malnutrition is a leading cause of death in children, especially during famine.
They’re more vulnerable to disease: Hunger weakens a child’s immune system, making them more susceptible to dangerous illnesses like diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria.
Their education can suffer: Hunger makes focusing in class a challenge. And some children may need to leave school altogether to help their families earn income or search for food and water.
They face greater safety risks: During food crises, many families feel forced to make unimaginable choices just to survive. As a result, children are at a greater risk of child labor, trafficking, early marriage and other forms of exploitation.
The damage can last a lifetime: After a crisis ends, prolonged hunger during childhood can have lasting impacts on health and potential. For example, missing school can affect a child’s future opportunities while disease can leave a child with pain that lasts.
Children living in poverty are especially vulnerable to the effects of hunger as they lack the resources needed to recover from them. As hunger impacts a child’s health, education and overall well-being, it makes accessing future opportunities and breaking free from poverty even harder.
As a result, hunger and poverty reinforce one another, creating a cycle that can affect children, families and communities for generations.
How Compassion Responds to Famine in Africa
Even in famine, there’s hope found in Jesus. And at Compassion, we’re equipping local churches to share that hope in word and deed with their communities facing devastating food insecurity.
In partnership with these churches, we step in immediately with nutrition care for children and families in need while sharing the eternal hope of the gospel. We also equip families with tools and resources to build long-term food security. What does this look like?
In one community, we might provide emergency food packs filled with staple items like rice and eggs or even cash transfers so families can buy what they need. In another community, we might deliver nutritious meals and vitamin supplements to help children heal from malnutrition.
But in every community, we help children overcome hunger so they can become thriving disciples ready to live out their God-given purpose.
Twins Helina & Bemnet Overcome Hunger in Ethiopia
Helina and Bemnet often cried themselves to sleep as their stomachs churned with hunger. Abandoned by their father, the twins’ mother worked tirelessly cleaning bathrooms and doing laundry, but it wasn’t enough.
When the local church saw the family’s need, they stepped in, bringing critical food support, medical care, education and encouragement, giving them hope for the future. Watch the video to experience their inspiring story.
Although famine and hunger remain serious challenges across Africa, they don’t have to define the future. Together, we can help children overcome hunger, break free from poverty and build brighter futures for themselves, their families and their communities.
