The deterioration has been driven by low Gu rains (the country’s main rainy season), rising food and fuel prices linked to the 2026 Middle East conflict, currency depreciation in southern regions, conflict-related displacement and increasing flood risks.
Malnutrition increases
Nearly 1.88 million children are expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition in 2026, an increase from previous estimates.
In Burhakaba district in the South Bay region, malnutrition levels have reached “extremely critical” thresholds, with communities at risk of worst-case famine, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the global food insecurity monitoring platform.
UN agencies and partners warned that assistance currently reaches only 12 percent of people facing hunger at crisis level or worse, and called for an urgent increase in aid to prevent further loss of life.
A displaced persons camp in Goma, capital of the North Kivu region, for civilians fleeing violence earlier this year.
Millions face emergency food shortages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Elsewhere in Africa, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) warned that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to face one of the largest and most serious hunger crises in the world.
According to the latest CPI analysis, more than 26 million people (almost one in four Congolese) struggle to meet their basic food needs.
Conflict, mass displacement, skyrocketing food prices and outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, measles and mpox continue to drive the crisis, especially in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika.
More than 3.6 million people face emergency levels of hunger, while 7.8 million people have been displaced across the country.
Help falls short
The nutritional crisis is also rapidly deepening. More than 4.1 million children under five are expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition in 2026, including 1.3 million facing severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition if left untreated.
More than 1.5 million pregnant and lactating women are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition, further exacerbating health risks for both mothers and children.
Humanitarian agencies warned that assistance remains far short of what is needed due to insecurity and significant funding shortfalls, and FAO and WFP called for urgent support to prevent conditions from worsening further.
Fuel shortages and blackouts deepen crisis in Cuba
Cuba faces a worsening energy crisis as severe fuel shortages and prolonged blackouts continue to disrupt services across the country.
The outages are putting increasing pressure on hospitals, water systems and public transportation, as communities struggle with increasingly unstable access to electricity and other basic services.
UN officials warned that the situation has deteriorated in recent days, with fuel reserves almost depleted and no immediate imports expected.
UN expands humanitarian response
The UN Country Team in Cuba, led by Resident Coordinator Francisco Pichón, continues to support national authorities and affected communities as the crisis deepens.
Through a UN action plan linked to Hurricane Melissa and the energy emergency, more than $32 million has been mobilized to help vulnerable communities.
“This has allowed the transportation of 48 containers carrying water, sanitation, health, shelter and protection supplies to the most affected provinces in eastern Cuba,” UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.
Food assistance has reached some 900,000 people, while solar-powered water pumps, portable treatment plants and backup generators installed in more than 20 health centers are helping to maintain critical services.