2.9 million face acute hunger in Cameroon
Nearly 2.9 million people face acute food insecurity across Cameroon, while conflict, displacement and funding gaps keep pressure on essential support.
Conflict, displacement, high prices and climate shocks continue to deepen food insecurity. National figures and funding requirements may change as assessments and operations continue.
Crisis timelineA long-running crisis is leaving millions without reliable access to food
Nearly 2.9 million people face acute food insecurity across Cameroon, according to a July update from the United Nations in Cameroon and the World Food Programme. In the Far North Region, Cameroon, repeated displacement and insecurity linked to the Lake Chad Basin conflict continue to disrupt farming, livestock, trade and access to essential services.
The national emergency is broader than one region. Violence in the North-West and South-West, pressure on communities hosting refugees in the East, climate shocks and high prices have weakened household livelihoods across several parts of the country. The Norwegian Refugee Council describes Cameroon as a threefold, protracted crisis that remains largely outside international attention.
Children face particular risks. Nearly 400,000 children aged from six to 59 months are facing or expected to face acute malnutrition, while UNICEF estimates that 1.5 million children will need some form of humanitarian assistance during 2026. Families are reducing meals, borrowing money and selling productive assets as food becomes harder to afford.
Humanitarian programmes are reaching people with food, nutrition and cash support, but available resources remain well below the scale of need. WFP says it needs an additional US$44.5 million to sustain assistance through December 2026. The IFRC and Cameroon Red Cross are also running an active food-security response focused on cash, nutrition, food and livelihoods.
Hunger is tied to displacement, protection risks and weakened services
Food insecurity is not an isolated shortage. It is shaped by conflict, lost livelihoods, repeated climate shocks and years of limited access to healthcare, water, education and protection.
Food and household income
Many families remain heavily dependent on markets while prices and weak incomes limit what they can buy. Cash assistance, staple food, support to local markets and help rebuilding livelihoods can prevent more damaging coping strategies.
Nutrition and healthcare
Children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers need screening, treatment, nutritious foods and functioning health services. Interruptions to therapeutic supplies or outreach can allow preventable malnutrition to become life-threatening.
Displacement and protection
More than 510,000 people had been displaced in the Far North Region by the end of 2025. Repeated movement can separate families from land, schools, documents and support networks while increasing protection risks.
Water, education and resilience
UNICEF estimates that 2.3 million people lack safe water and around 933,000 school-age children need emergency education support. Water systems, school meals and resilient livelihoods matter alongside immediate food assistance.
How the current response and evidence have developed
Funding gap threatens support through the end of the year
WFP reports that nearly 2.9 million people face acute food insecurity and nearly 400,000 young children face or are expected to face acute malnutrition. It says an additional US$44.5 million is needed to sustain operations through December.
Cameroon publishes a national food-security risk update
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development publishes its first quarterly joint monitoring report for 2026, updating risks to food and nutrition security.
Cameroon remains among the world's most neglected crises
NRC reports that the country's overlapping displacement crises remain underfunded and under-reported, with needs growing across the Far North, North-West, South-West and refugee-hosting eastern areas.
WFP warns that funding shortages threaten assistance
A new contribution is directed towards 22,600 people in the Far North and Adamawa regions, while WFP warns that nearly 600,000 people could lose food and nutrition support without more funding.
Food-insecurity emergency appeal is launched
The IFRC launches a 9.6 million Swiss franc appeal with the Cameroon Red Cross, targeting 330,000 people with food, cash, nutrition and livelihood support.
Cameroon Red Cross food-security operation begins
The operation starts in the East, Far North and North regions after assessments find severe food-access pressures and exhausted household stocks.
Funding continuity and access will shape the rest of 2026
The most important changes may be gradual: whether programmes can remain open, whether families can rebuild income and whether seasonal shocks create new displacement.
Continuity of food assistance
Funding decisions will determine whether food, cash and school-meal programmes can maintain coverage. Reduced assistance would place more pressure on families already cutting meals or selling assets.
Child malnutrition
Screening, referral and therapeutic supplies need to remain available in hard-to-reach communities. Changes in admissions and treatment coverage will be important indicators of whether conditions are deteriorating.
Access and security
Violence in the Far North, North-West and South-West can restrict movement, close markets and interrupt services. Safe humanitarian access and protection for civilians remain central operational concerns.
Floods, harvests and prices
Seasonal flooding, harvest performance and market prices will affect food access through the remainder of the year. Poor households and displaced families have the least capacity to absorb another shock.
Information used in this report
Cameroon's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; the United Nations in Cameroon and World Food Programme; UNICEF; the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Cameroon Red Cross; FEWS NET; and the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Publication and updates
- Published — Original report published.