Hunger in Zambia Set to Jump 72% as El Niño Weather Threat Builds

LUSAKA, 29 August 2026. The number of people facing crisis levels of hunger in Zambia is projected to jump by 72% in the coming months, Save the Children said this week, as an anticipated El Niño drought and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East combine to push more families toward hunger. About 1.2 million people, or 5% of Zambia's population, are expected to face acute food insecurity between October this year and next March. That is up from nearly 700,000 people currently, according to new data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the global hunger monitor referenced in the Save the Children report. The anticipated super El Niño is expected to bring prolonged dry spells and below-average rainfall across Zambia, resulting in poor crop performance, reduced agricultural production and localised crop failures. The Middle East conflict, now in its sixth month, is compounding the problem: higher fuel and fertiliser prices have pushed up food prices and made food less affordable for vulnerable households, the IPC report found. Women and young children are expected to be hit hardest. Many women currently report eating only one or two meals a day, while children under five in several provinces are already experiencing inadequate meal frequency, raising their risk of malnutrition, poor growth and long-term developmental harm. About 32% of children aged 6 to 59 months in Zambia are stunted, according to the latest Zambia Demographic and Health Survey. Chilobe Kambikambi, Save the Children's Country Director in Zambia, said the projections should be a wake-up call. "Children are often the first to suffer when food becomes scarce, with consequences that can last a lifetime," Kambikambi said. "A 72% increase in the number of people facing acute food insecurity is alarming. Without swift support, parents will increasingly be forced to make impossible choices between feeding their children, or meeting other basic needs." "The surge in the number