Briefing of the ICRC and the IFRC on the humanitarian situation and their activities

Date | 12 October 2026

Tomorrow (13 October), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) is expected to convene its 1373^rd session to receive a briefing from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on its activities and the humanitarian situation in Africa, and a briefing by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Following opening remarks by Churchill Ewumbue-Monono, Permanent Representative of Cameroon to the AU and the Chairperson of the PSC for October 2026, Bankole Adeoye, the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), is expected to deliver a statement. Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, ICRC President, is expected to deliver a presentation. This is followed by a presentation by Kate Forbes, President of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Tomorrow’s session is expected to be the IFRC’s first briefing to the PSC. The IFRC supports Africa’s National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in responding to disasters, disease outbreaks, hunger and displacement, while strengthening local capacity and community resilience. In view of the growing gap between humanitarian needs and international support, there is a heightening demand for enhancing national humanitarian capacity. The role of IFRC in working with and supporting national societies is thus gaining significance.

Since becoming a statutory meeting in 2007, the session has been meant to provide updates on major humanitarian issues across Africa and developments in humanitarian aid. Tomorrow’s briefing, delivered by the President of the ICRC for the first time since assuming her role in October 2022, will build on the Council’s 1307th session, held on 24 October 2025. In the outcome of the 1307^th session, the PSC pressed for regular joint ICRC-IFRC briefings to the PSC, accompanied by more concrete assistance from the wider Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, especially for the refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons. Furthermore, it called for the ‘expedited development of the Common African Position on IHL and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in warfare’ and the imperative for the ‘development of an AU Humanitarian Diplomacy Framework.’

The humanitarian situation in Africa in 2026 is severe, marked by the triple conditions of increasing need, constrained humanitarian space, and a significant funding shortfall. More than 160 million people across the continent are in need of humanitarian assistance. This condition has been significantly compounded by restrictive operating environments and the crisis in the Middle East, which has driven up fuel, transport and food costs; disrupted supply chains; and placed additional strain on already fragile economies and food systems.

Some of the conflict situations, notably Sudan, led to the emergence of the largest displacement crisis in the world. More than 45 million people are reported to be forcibly displaced on the continent, mostly owing to conflicts.

Eastern Africa remains one of the world’s most severe humanitarian hotspots, with 48.5 million people in need of assistance in 2026 driven by conflict, displacement, climate shocks, disease outbreaks and food insecurity. Food insecurity worsened in the second quarter, with 40.5 million people facing Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse levels, 1.6 million more than in the first quarter and the sharpest rises were reported, in the context of the super El Niño event, in South Sudan, Kenya, Sudan and Tanzania. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Ebola outbreak is deepening an already severe crisis, with more than 6.1 million people displaced and 26.6 million facing acute food insecurity, mostly in the conflict-affected east. Continued fighting is expected to drive further displacement, loss of livelihoods and serious violations against civilians, including conflict-related sexual violence.

In West Africa, another humanitarian hotspot on the continent, OCHA estimates that 24.3 million people across the Sahel will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2026, with deteriorating security as the main driver. In the Central Sahel, 2.8 million people are internally displaced and 401,000 children suffer from severe acute malnutrition. Seasonal flooding has added to the strain. As of the end of September 2026, seasonal rains had triggered widespread flooding throughout West and Central Africa, affecting 1.5 million people in 15 countries, with Nigeria, Ghana and DRC accounting for almost 90 per cent of those affected. The floods displaced some 595,000 people, damaged or destroyed 117,000 homes, claimed 533 lives and injured around 1,500, while also hitting 300 schools, 26 health facilities, cropland and livestock.

Despite these growing humanitarian needs, only about 26.7 per cent of the required humanitarian funding has been mobilised. Tomorrow’s session is therefore expected to shed light on both immediate humanitarian challenges and the longer-term question of how Africa can develop more sustainable solutions to the persistence of humanitarian crises on the continent. Africa needs to adopt both mitigation measures geared towards addressing the immediate needs and risks and resolution measures seeking to address the conditions that induce and sustain humanitarian crises, including displacement. Particular attention should be given to conflict prevention and resolution, considering that conflicts and political and security crises account for much of the humanitarian crises on the continent.

The humanitarian consequences of public health crises remain significant. In addition to the risks associated with the persistence of the Ebola outbreak in DRC, the session may also examine the growing intersection between public health emergencies, conflict, and displacement. The Ebola outbreak unfolding in DRC highlights the challenges of responding to health emergencies in environments characterised by insecurity, displacement, and weak health systems. Ongoing violence in affected areas has disrupted healthcare delivery, restricted humanitarian access, and undermined response efforts. Such situations illustrate how humanitarian crises increasingly overlap and reinforce one another, creating complex emergencies that are more difficult and costly to address.

Tomorrow’s session will also address the growing impact of climate change, with a focus on the projected 2026 super El Niño, which is expected to deepen humanitarian needs. The World Meteorological Organisation projects that Africa could face severe floods and drought between October 2026 and March 2027, as the strongest El Niño ever recorded is expected to disrupt weather patterns. This could bring heavy rainfall and severe floods to East Africa, and intense drought across Southern Africa and the Sahel. As a result, 12 countries are at the highest risk of experiencing a food crisis, including Nigeria, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia. Given the early warnings, whether states and relevant continental and international entities are heeding the warning and putting in place preventive interventions and preparedness for effective response and management of the impact.

In the context of the AU’s 2026 theme, ‘Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems,’ presenters from ICRC and IFRC are expected to draw attention to the need for safeguarding water and sanitation systems, health facilities and energy infrastructure from attacks. Protecting these infrastructures is central to strengthening humanitarian resilience, reducing the economic and social costs of conflict, and advancing the protection of civilians. As the war in Sudan and its impact on infrastructure shows, the growing use of drones, AI and autonomous functions in weapon systems raises new questions about how hostilities are conducted. Conflicts have also shifted from open battlefields into densely populated cities, where harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure is far greater.

Tomorrow’s session is also expected to pay attention to the threats facing International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in conflict situations, not just in Africa but globally. As pointed out in a publication supported by ICRC, ‘[w]hat makes the current moment particularly alarming is not just the widespread violations of IHL rules, but the fact that these violations are occurring without any fear of accountability, thus with impunity, and are often cloaked in attempts to justify or legitimise them.’ While not unique to it, a context that illustrates the widespread perpetration of violations of IHL with impunity is the war in Sudan, as extensively documented, including by AU and UN bodies.

Against this backdrop, the ICRC briefing is expected to call on the PSC and AU member states to reinforce political commitment to uphold IHL. In this context, it may urge AU member states to join the Global IHL Initiative, developed in response to the growing erosion in global compliance with IHL in the context of wars in various parts of the world. It is also expected to call on member states to attend the High-Level Conference scheduled to take place on 7 December 2026, in Jordan, which is the culmination of the Global IHL Initiative.

The expected outcome of the session is a communiqué. The PSC may express concern over the escalating humanitarian crises across Africa, particularly the combined impact of armed conflicts, violent extremism, climate-driven extreme weather and health emergencies, as well as shrinking humanitarian financing. The Council is also expected to make a call on Member States, Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs), international partners, and humanitarian actors to strengthen coordinated responses to humanitarian emergencies across the continent. On financing, the PSC may call for the development of innovative and African-owned financing solutions, including stronger engagement in domestic resource mobilisation and non-traditional sources, including through establishing a strategy for private sector partnership. In the context of the 2026 AU Theme of the Year, the PSC may urge the AU Commission and Member States to give due attention to the protection of civilian objects and essential services, including water and sanitation systems, health and education facilities, energy and communications infrastructure, whose disruption can have far-reaching humanitarian consequences for civilian populations. In the context of the intensifying Ebola outbreak, the PSC may call for the need to protect the humanitarian space and health care providers and the imperative to implement preventive measures and preparedness for response to the impacts of the super El Niño. The Council may also remind States Parties of their obligations under international law to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and put in place legal frameworks for investigation and prosecution of violations of IHL. It may welcome the Global IHL Initiative and invite AU member states to support the initiative. The PSC may reiterate the need to embed the humanitarian-development-peace nexus in all humanitarian responses and stress the need to address the root causes of humanitarian crises, notably conflicts.