NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 12 – Kenya is experiencing a severe food insecurity and acute malnutrition crisis, with conditions worsening across the country’s 23 Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) and surrounding areas.
According to recent assessments, an estimated 3.3 million people are currently in IPC Acute Food Insecurity (AFI) Phase 3 or above, including 400,000 people in Phase 4 (Emergency) who require immediate, life-saving assistance.
This represents a 52 percent increase compared to early 2025 and exceeds projections made for October 2025–January 2026.
Refugee settlements in Dadaab, Kakuma, and Kalobeyei face similarly critical conditions. About 430,000 residents—around two-thirds of the population—are in IPC AFI Phase 3 or above, and all three settlements are classified in Phase 4 (Emergency). Combined with affected populations in ASAL counties, the total number of people in Kenya in IPC Phase 3 or worse exceeds 3.7 million.
The malnutrition situation is also alarming. Nearly 810,900 children aged 6–59 months are acutely malnourished and in need of treatment in 2026, with 62 percent located in ASAL counties.
Mandera, North Horr/Chalbi (Marsabit), and Turkana South and East are already in IPC AMN Phase 5 (Extremely Critical) while Laisamis is projected to reach Phase 5 between March and June 2026.
Phase 5 malnutrition indicates that at least one in three children is acutely malnourished, alongside outbreaks of dysentery, cholera, acute watery diarrhoea, and measles, contributing to excess mortality.
The crisis is fueled by multiple factors including below -average and erratic October–December 2025 rains, causing crop failure, poor pasture regeneration, and depleted water sources.
Rising insecurity, increasing lake levels that have submerged farmland and homes, and widespread crop and livestock pest infestations and surging staple food prices, reducing household purchasing power is also a factor.
The situation is expected to worsen further. Between April and June 2026, approximately 3.7 million people are projected to face IPC AFI Phase 3 or above, driven by forecasted below-average March–May long rains.
Mandera County is expected to escalate to Phase 4 (Emergency), marking an unprecedented decline for this typically harvest and grazing period.
Authorities and humanitarian partners are calling for an urgent, large-scale, multisectoral response, including increased food, non-food, and livelihood support, to prevent further loss of life.