A new global food crises report says two-thirds of people facing acute hunger are concentrated in 10 countries, including Nigeria, while conflict, displacement and declining humanitarian funding continue to worsen the crisis.
The 2026 Global Report on Food Crises has revealed that two-thirds of people facing high levels of acute hunger are concentrated in 10 countries, including Nigeria, as 266 million people across 47 countries experienced severe food insecurity in 2025. The report by the Global Network Against Food Crises identified Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen as the hardest-hit countries, warning that acute food insecurity has become persistent and recurring. It found conflict remains the leading driver of the crisis, accounting for more than half of those facing severe hunger, while more than 39 million people in 32 countries were in emergency conditions and catastrophic hunger has risen ninefold since 2016.
“Acute food insecurity today is not just widespread – it is also persistent and recurring,” FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said, warning that the crisis had become structural rather than temporary. In the report’s foreword, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, “This report is a call to action to summon the 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 highlighted the growing toll on children, with 35.5 million acutely malnourished, including nearly 10 million suffering severe acute malnutrition. UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires warned, “Children with severe wasting are too thin for their height. Their immune systems weakened to the extent that ordinary childhood illnesses can become fatal.”
The report further warned that forced displacement is intensifying food insecurity, with more than 85 million displaced people recorded across food-crisis contexts in 2025, often facing worse hunger levels than host communities. “Forced displacement and food insecurity are deeply interconnected, forming a vicious cycle,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih noted, stressing humanitarian aid alone would not be enough to break the pattern. Despite the worsening crisis, the report warned that humanitarian funding is declining, raising concerns over the global response as conflict, economic shocks and displacement continue to push millions deeper into hunger.
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