A growing share of global hunger is becoming entrenched in a small group of conflict-hit countries, with two-thirds of people facing acute food insecurity concentrated in just 10 nations, a major international report backed by UN agencies warns.
The 2026 Global Report on Food Crises, released on Friday by an alliance of UN agencies, the European Union (EU) and partners, finds that 266 million people across 47 countries experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2025 – nearly a quarter of the population analysed and almost double the share recorded in 2016.
The report paints a stark picture: hunger is no longer a series of short-term emergencies, but a persistent and increasingly concentrated global challenge.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
“Acute food insecurity today is not just widespread – it is also persistent and recurring,” said FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, warning that the crisis has become structural rather than temporary.
Conflict the primary driver
Conflict remains the primary driver, accounting for more than half of all people facing severe hunger.
Ten countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen – accounted for two-thirds of all people facing high levels of acute hunger.
At the most extreme end, famine was confirmed in 2025 in Gaza and parts of Sudan – the first time since the report began that two separate famines have been recorded in a single year.
“This report is a call to action,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in the foreword, stressing the need for political will “to rapidly scale up investment in lifesaving aid, and work to end the conflicts that inflict so much suffering on so many.”
The report also highlights a sharp rise in the severity of hunger. More than 39 million people in 32 countries faced emergency levels of food insecurity, while the number of people experiencing catastrophic hunger has increased ninefold since 2016.
Children bearing the brunt
Children are among the most affected. In 2025, 35.5 million children were acutely malnourished, including nearly 10 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition – a life-threatening condition that dramatically increases the risk of death.
“Children with severe wasting are too thin for their height. Their immune systems weakened to the extent that ordinary childhood illnesses can become fatal,” UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson Ricardo Pires warned.
In the worst-affected areas – including Gaza, Myanmar, South Sudan and Sudan – overlapping crises of conflict, disease and limited access to services are driving extreme levels of malnutrition and raising the risk of death.
Displacement compounding the crisis
Forced displacement is compounding the crisis.
More than 85 million people were displaced across food-crisis contexts last year, with displaced populations consistently facing higher levels of hunger than host communities.
“Forced displacement and food insecurity are deeply interconnected, forming a vicious cycle,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih, warning that humanitarian aid alone is not enough to break the pattern.
Collapse in funding
Despite the scale of the crisis, the report warns that funding is moving in the opposite direction.
Humanitarian and development financing for food and nutrition responses has fallen back to levels last seen nearly a decade ago, limiting the ability of governments and aid organizations to respond effectively.
At the same time, data gaps are growing. The number of countries able to produce reliable food security assessments has dropped to its lowest level in a decade, meaning the true scale of hunger may be even greater than current estimates suggest.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Bleak outlook for 2026
Looking ahead, the outlook for 2026 remains bleak. Ongoing conflicts, climate shocks and economic instability are expected to keep food insecurity at critical levels in many countries.
The report also flags new risks linked to global market disruptions, including those stemming from the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, which could further increase food prices and strain supply chains.
Aid agencies warn that without a shift in approach, the world risks becoming locked into a cycle of deepening crises, with hunger no longer a temporary emergency but an increasingly persistent feature of global instability.
“We must shift from reacting too late to acting early, and from relying solely on food assistance to protecting local food production – because that is how we reduce needs, save lives and build resilience over time,” said FAO Director-General Qu.
