A Framework for Breaking the Food–Climate–Water–Conflict Nexus in Africa
Publisher: Observer Research Foundation
Author(s): Malancha Chakrabarty
Date: 2026
Topics: Climate Change, Conflict Causes, Renewable Resources
Africa is in the middle of multiple, yet related, crises—conflicts, climate change, water stress, and food insecurity. The number of active state-based conflicts in Africa has almost doubled from 15 in 2013 to 28 in 2023—the highest number in the world. African conflicts have displaced over 40 million people in total and caused over two million deaths. Sudan (7.3 million), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (7.1 million), Somalia (5.1 million), South Sudan (4.5 million), Nigeria (3.9 million), and Ethiopia (3.4 million) account for the highest number of forcibly displaced people. In 2022, the war in Ethiopia alone accounted for more than 100,000 deaths, about half of all the state-based battle-related deaths in the world, more than the fatalities in the Russia–Ukraine war.