The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned that nearly 52.8 million people in West Africa and the Sahel could face acute food insecurity during the 2026 lean season, between June and August.

According to FAO’s latest Cadre Harmonisé 2025 analysis, about 41.8 million people are already experiencing acute food insecurity, highlighting a rapidly worsening food and nutrition crisis across the region.

The agency says millions of households continue to be affected by a combination of economic pressures, vulnerability, and declining resilience, deepening humanitarian needs.

FAO is now calling for urgent collective action to strengthen the humanitarian response and implement sustainable long-term solutions, warning that declining funding could further weaken efforts to prevent a large-scale food crisis.