Eswatini — humanitarian situation

Eswatini continues to face deteriorating food security driven by erratic rainfall, high food prices, and reduced household incomes. The 2026 maize harvest concluded in June at approximately 70,000 tonnes, representing a 6 percent year-on-year decline and a below-average output attributed to irregular precipitation patterns FAO. Between June and September 2026, an estimated 222,000 people—18 percent of the analyzed population—are experiencing acute food insecurity at IPC Phase 3 or above, marking a 2 percentage point increase from the 193,000 people (16 percent) recorded during the same period in 2025 IPC. The worsening conditions are expected to persist into the 2026/27 consumption period, with maize import requirements anticipated to rise moderately in 2025/26 FAO. The country has experienced successive years of prolonged drought, compounded by cumulative socio-economic challenges and livestock disease outbreaks IFRC, IPC. While food inflation has eased somewhat due to lower cereal prices, chronic vulnerability remains high FAO. WFP continues supporting the Government through the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, smallholder farmer market access initiatives, and technical assistance aimed at strengthening national social protection systems and enhancing climate resilience WFP. The IFRC has allocated CHF 546,685 through the DREF for anticipatory actions to mitigate drought impacts, including pre-positioning of stocks and annual readiness activities IFRC. Localized flooding persisted in parts of Eswatini during the second quarter of 2026, even as much of Southern Africa transitioned from large-scale flood response to recovery OCHA. The Government officially launched the National Disaster Risk Management Authority in April 2026, replacing the former National Disaster Management Agency and signaling a shift from response-oriented operations toward a risk-informed, anticipatory framework IFRC. This institutional transition reflects growing recognition of disasters as systemic challenges requiring proactive management rather than reactive emergency response. The broader regional context includes overlapping crises across Eastern and Southern Africa—conflict, displacement, disease outbreaks, and climate shocks—that have left tens of millions of children at heightened risk amid severe funding shortfalls UNICEF.