Global Hunger Reaches Alarming New High, Says Report

The Global Report on Food Crises 2025, released today, reveals that 295.3 million people across 53 countries experienced acute food insecurity in the past year—an increase of 13.7 million from the previous year. This figure represents the highest level recorded to date and underscores a deeply concerning six-year upward trend.

“Nearly 300 million people are now grappling with acute food insecurity—a staggering new high that signals a worsening global crisis,” said Onome Ako, CEO of Action Against Hunger Canada. “Even more alarming is the fact that the number of people facing emergency levels of hunger or famine has doubled in just one year. Conflict zones are the hardest hit, with the humanitarian situation in Gaza and Sudan reaching almost unimaginable levels, particularly for children and vulnerable communities.”

Conflicts, Climate, and Funding Shortfalls: The Deadly Drivers of Hunger

The global hunger crisis continues to be driven by three interconnected factors—each growing more severe:

• Conflict remains the leading cause of acute hunger. In countries like Sudan, Gaza, Myanmar, and Haiti, ongoing violence is cutting off access to food, disrupting markets, and displacing millions.
• The climate crisis is driving more frequent and severe droughts, floods, and extreme weather, putting the livelihoods of millions at risk in countries like  Ethiopia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
• Dramatic cuts to humanitarian aid are putting life-saving humanitarian efforts at risk. Global food aid funding may fall by as much as 45 percent, threatening to cut off food assistance for at least 14 million children worldwide.

Where Hunger Hits Hardest

Some of the most alarming findings of the report highlight the scale and severity of the crisis:

• The number of people living in famine-like conditions (IPC/CH Phase 5) more than doubled between 2023 and 2024, driven largely by armed conflict. Over 95% of those facing this extreme level of hunger are in Gaza and Sudan, while South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali also report populations at Phase 5.
• In Sudan, famine has been officially confirmed in 10 regions, with 17 more on the brink.
• In the Gaza Strip, 100% of the population experienced acute food insecurity in 2024. Nearly half are in Phase 4 (“emergency”), just one step away from famine.
• The largest numbers of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC/CH Phase 3 or higher) were found in Nigeria, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Bangladesh—each with at least 23 million people affected. Combined, these four countries represent over a third of the global total of people in crisis.
• In 26 countries, 37.7 million children suffered from acute malnutrition in 2024, including more than 10.2 million with severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Additionally, 14 million children are at risk of losing access to nutrition services due to funding cuts. In 21 countries, over 10.9 million pregnant and breastfeeding women were also acutely malnourished.

Action Against Hunger Calls for Urgent Global Response

“The figures in this year’s Hunger Report are an urgent call to action,” said Ako. “Hunger is not an inevitable fate—it is the result of political failure, economic inequality, conflict, and climate injustice. Without immediate, coordinated international action, the global hunger crisis will continue to deepen—with catastrophic consequences for millions.”

Action Against Hunger is on the ground in many of the hardest-hit areas—including Sudan, Yemen, Gaza, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Afghanistan—delivering emergency aid. The organization provides food, clean water, nutrition support, and medical care to malnourished children, pregnant women, and displaced families.

The Global Report on Food Crises is compiled annually by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN), in collaboration with international partners. It remains one of the most authoritative assessments of global acute food insecurity. 

The report full report can be found here:
https://www.fightfoodcrises.net/events/2025-global-report-food-crises