UN seeks $202 million to protect 8.8 million from El Niño

$202 million aid appeal by UN for 22 countries at risk from El Niño

Mohan Sinha
21 Jun 2026, 00:36 GMT+10

FAO and WFP said on June 18 that they need $202 million to help protect 8.8 million people in 22 high-risk countries from the expected El Niño weather pattern.
: If they receive additional funding, the agencies can extend their support beyond the 1.2 million people already targeted.
El Niño is a natural event in which ocean temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific warm due to weaker trade winds. It usually happens every two to seven years and lasts about nine to 12 months.

ROME, Italy: The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Program said on June 18 that they need $202 million to help protect 8.8 million people in 22 high-risk countries from the expected El Niño weather pattern.

They warned that strong El Niño conditions in the second half of 2026 could increase droughts, floods, and storms in parts of Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The countries most at risk include several in Africa (like Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia), Asia-Pacific (such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Philippines), and Latin America and the Caribbean (including Colombia, Haiti, and Venezuela).

If they receive additional funding, the agencies can extend help beyond the 1.2 million people already targeted.

The planned support includes cash aid, climate-resistant seeds, livestock protection, and measures to control flooding.

El Niño is a natural event in which ocean temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific warm due to weaker trade winds. It usually happens every two to seven years and lasts about nine to 12 months.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently confirmed that El Niño has begun and said it could intensify, with a 63 percent chance of becoming a very strong, or "super," El Niño by 2027.