Global Food Insecurity Stays at Record Highs, with Two Famines and Falling Humanitarian Aid in 2025
Introduction
The 2026 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), put together by 18 humanitarian and development groups including UN agencies and the EU, reports that about 266 million people in 47 areas faced severe food shortages or worse in 2025. For the first time in the report's ten-year history, famine was confirmed in two different conflict zones – parts of Gaza and Sudan – in the same year. The report also shows that the share of people facing severe hunger has stayed above 20% every year since 2020, almost double the 11.3% seen in 2016.
Main Body
The report states that conflict and violence were the main cause of severe food shortages, affecting 147.4 million people in 19 countries – more than half of all those facing extreme hunger. Weather extremes were the main factor in 16 countries (87.5 million people), while economic problems led in 12 countries (29.8 million). Ten nations – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen – accounted for two-thirds of all people experiencing high levels of acute hunger. Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo had the highest numbers, while Gaza and South Sudan had the largest share of their populations affected. At the most severe level of the IPC scale (Phase 5), 1.4 million people in six areas faced disaster-level hunger in 2025 – more than nine times the number in 2016. The Gaza Strip had 640,700 people in famine conditions (32% of its population), the highest share globally, followed by Sudan with 637,200 (1% of its population). Other places with extreme shortages included South Sudan (83,500), Yemen (41,200), Haiti (8,400), and Mali (2,600). In addition, over 39 million people in 32 countries were in emergency conditions (Phase 4). Child malnutrition was severe: 35.5 million children were acutely malnourished across 23 countries, including nearly 10 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition – a life-threatening condition. Furthermore, 25.7 million children had moderate acute malnutrition, and 9.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women were acutely malnourished. Forced displacement made the crisis worse: 85.1 million people were displaced in food-crisis areas; internally displaced persons made up 62.6 million, while refugees and asylum seekers numbered 22.5 million. Barham Salih, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said that forced displacement and food insecurity create a cycle that humanitarian aid alone cannot break. Funding for humanitarian and development food and nutrition responses dropped sharply in 2025, falling to levels last seen in 2016–2017. According to the report, humanitarian food-sector funding decreased by about 39% from 2024, while development assistance fell by at least 15%. The United States was responsible for three-quarters of the overall decline in aid from the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), cutting its contributions by 57%. As a result, Germany ($29.1 billion) became the largest donor for the first time, surpassing the US ($29 billion). Other major donors also reduced aid: Germany by 17.4%, France by 10.9%, the United Kingdom by 10.8%, and Japan by 5.6%. The report warns that this funding drop will limit the ability of governments and humanitarian groups to respond effectively to ongoing crises. Looking ahead to 2026, the report expects that the situation will stay very serious in many areas. Ongoing conflicts, climate variability, and global economic uncertainty – including risks from the conflict in the Middle East – are likely to keep conditions the same or make them worse. The US-Israeli war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have added new pressures, with possible disruptions to energy and fertiliser trade that could affect global food markets. Alvaro Lario, head of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development, warned that even if the conflict ended immediately, food price shocks and inflation would probably continue for six months. In West Africa and the Sahel, conflict and persistent inflation are expected to keep pressure on Nigeria, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso; Nigeria alone is projected to see an additional 4.1 million people facing acute hunger in 2026. In East Africa, failed rains across the Horn of Africa are expected to deepen suffering in Somalia and Kenya, where drought, insecurity, high food prices, and reduced aid are likely to drive worsening conditions. The report also notes that data gaps are growing, with the number of countries able to produce reliable food security assessments at its lowest level in a decade, suggesting that the true scale of hunger may be underestimated.
Conclusion
The 2026 Global Report on Food Crises highlights that acute food insecurity has become a long-term and deeply rooted global challenge, mostly in conflict-affected countries and made worse by falling international funding. Without a long-term effort to solve the root causes – especially ending conflicts and increasing investment in both humanitarian aid and local food production – the world's most vulnerable countries will probably continue to suffer a much larger share of the hunger problem through 2026 and beyond.