NAIROBI, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Multiple crises, driven by ongoing conflicts, political instability, economic shocks, disease outbreaks, and severe climate events, are exacerbating existing humanitarian needs and fuelling displacement in Eastern Africa, the United Nations relief agency said Tuesday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the region hosted more than 24 million displaced people, including 5.7 million refugees and asylum-seekers and 18.8 million internally displaced people as of March.

According to OCHA, over 56 million people across Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda are projected to face crisis levels of food insecurity from May 2024 to June 2025.

"South Sudan and Sudan have the highest prevalence of food insecurity with approximately half of their populations affected. In Sudan, famine has been confirmed in more than 10 locations," OCHA said in its latest report released in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

OCHA said since January, the region has reported over 36,000 cholera cases and 583 deaths, with South Sudan bearing the brunt of the outbreak, accounting for more than 25,000 cases.

Meanwhile, six countries confirmed over 4,300 mpox cases, with more than 3,500 cases in Uganda alone. Ebola and Marburg were also confirmed in Uganda and Tanzania, respectively, OCHA said. "Multiple disease outbreaks, including cholera, measles and mpox, continue to pose significant public health challenges."

The UN agency said high levels of acute malnutrition have also been reported, with over eight million children and 1.3 million pregnant and lactating women affected. Enditem

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