Global hunger at critical levels in 2026

April 24, 2026 / 8:02 PM

Sharjah24—Reuters: A landmark report released in Rome on Thursday has painted a deeply troubling picture of the world's hunger crisis, warning that conflict, drought, and shrinking humanitarian funding will keep global food insecurity at critical levels throughout 2026. The 2026 Global Report on Food Crises—the tenth edition of the annual hunger monitor, produced by a coalition of development and humanitarian organisations—found that acute hunger has doubled over the past decade. Two famines were declared last year for the first time in the report's history—in Gaza and Sudan.

The scale of the crisis

In 2025, 266 million people across 47 countries and territories faced high levels of acute food insecurity. Of these, 1.4 million people were living in outright catastrophic conditions in parts of Haiti, Mali, Gaza, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen. Children bore a particularly devastating share of the burden — 35.5 million were acutely malnourished worldwide in 2025 alone, with nearly ten million suffering from the most severe form of acute malnutrition.

Haiti offers a rare glimmer of hope

The report offers little comfort when looking ahead to 2026, except for one exception. Haiti is expected to be the only country to move out of the worst "catastrophic" classification, thanks to a modest improvement in security conditions and a slight increase in humanitarian aid reaching those in need.

"No longer an isolated issue"

Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations agency that produces the annual report, was candid about what the findings signify. "We are no longer just seeing temporary shocks," he said. "These are persistent shocks over time." He added that the central message of this year's report is that food insecurity has shifted from a contained humanitarian problem to a direct threat to global stability.

The shadow of war in the Middle East

Lario also highlighted the US-Israeli war against Iran as a significant and growing source of concern, warning that prolonged disruptions to the energy and fertiliser trade could ripple out into global food markets, hitting import-dependent countries that are already struggling the hardest. "Even if the conflict in the Middle East were to end right now," he said, "we know that many of the food price shocks and inflation will occur in the next six months."

West Africa and the Sahel under severe strain

Even before the latest conflict added fresh pressure, West Africa and the Sahel were already set for a difficult year. Nigeria, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso all face ongoing conflict and persistent inflation that shows little sign of easing. Nigeria alone is projected to record one of the largest increases in acute food insecurity in 2026, with an additional 4.1 million people expected to face severe hunger.

East Africa: drought deepens the pain

In East Africa, reduced rainfall across much of the Horn of Africa is likely to worsen conditions in Somalia and Kenya, where drought, insecurity, rising food prices, and declining aid are converging, leaving already fragile communities with fewer and fewer options.

Funding falls sharply

Perhaps most alarming, the report issued a stark warning about the collapse in funding. Humanitarian financing for food in crisis settings fell by around 39 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024, while development aid dropped by at least 15 per cent. The gap between required and available resources has never been wider, with further cuts expected in the coming year.