TORONTO — Armed conflict, worsening climate disasters and deep cuts to international aid budgets are driving global hunger to emergency levels — with no signs of improvement in 2026 — according to the 2026 Global Report on Food Crises, released today.
The report finds that 266 million people across 47 countries faced crisis-level or worse acute food insecurity in 2025 — double the number recorded a decade ago. For the first time in the report’s history, two famines were declared in a single year, in Gaza and Sudan, underscoring how quickly crises can spiral when conflict and access constraints collide.
“Hunger is not inevitable,” said Onome Ako, CEO of Action Against Hunger. “But preventing famine requires political will. Without stronger international solidarity, predictable funding and decisive action, millions of people will continue to be denied their basic right to nutritious food.”
Children face life‑threatening consequences
Across the 23 countries classified as facing food crisis in 2025, an estimated 35.5 million children under five were acutely malnourished. Nearly 10 million — 9.7 million — were suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a condition that can be fatal without urgent treatment.
The risks are greatest where conflict, disease, unsafe water and collapsed health systems overlap. Acute malnutrition rates are especially high in Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar and South Sudan, where children face multiple, compounding threats to their survival.
Ten countries account for two-thirds of global hunger
Global hunger is becoming more concentrated, with a growing share of acute food insecurity driven by a limited number of crisis settings. In 2025, just ten countries accounted for nearly two‑thirds of all people facing acute food insecurity worldwide, and Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan alone made up almost one‑third of the global total.
While a few countries, like Bangladesh and Niger, saw fewer people facing the most severe levels of hunger, these gains were not enough to shift the global picture. Escalating conflict, displacement and economic shocks continue to push millions more into hunger, reinforcing a pattern where the worst crises are increasingly concentrated in fewer places.
Aid cuts deepen the crisis
The report issues a stark warning about the impact of declining international support. Humanitarian funding for food assistance fell by approximately 39 per cent in 2025, compared with the previous year. Development funding declined by at least 15 per cent, with further reductions anticipated.
At the same time, escalating global tensions, including continued instability in the Middle East, are disrupting energy and fertilizer markets, driving up food prices and further straining countries already facing crisis.
Without renewed political commitment and sustained investment, the report warns that today’s emergency conditions risk becoming entrenched. As conflicts grow more protracted and climate shocks more frequent, preventing future famines will depend on acting earlier, protecting aid budgets and addressing the root causes of hunger before crisis becomes catastrophe.
About the Global Report on Food Crises
The Global Report on Food Crises is produced annually by an international network coordinated by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN). It is widely regarded as one of the most authoritative global assessments of acute food insecurity.
Notes to editors
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