The 2026 Global Report on Food Crises warns that drought and shrinking aid will keep global hunger at critical levels in 2026.
The report says food insecurity is expected to worsen in some of the world’s most fragile countries.
The 10th edition of the hunger monitor, published by a coalition of development and humanitarian organisations, reveals that acute hunger has doubled over the past decade, with two famines declared in Sudan and Gaza in 2025.
In total, 266 million people in 47 countries and territories faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2025, while 1.4 million people experienced catastrophic conditions in parts of Haiti, Mali, Gaza, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen.
In 2025 alone, 35.5 million children worldwide were acutely malnourished, including nearly 10 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
According to the report, severity levels remain critical, with only Haiti expected to move out of the worst “catastrophic” category due to slight improvements in security and increased humanitarian aid.
Alvaro Lario, head of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development, which helped compile the report, said: “We are no longer seeing just temporary shocks, but persistent ones over time.
“The main message is that food insecurity is no longer an isolated issue—it is putting pressure on global stability.”
Lario warned that the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has added to concerns, noting that prolonged disruption to energy and fertiliser trade could spill over into global food markets and worsen hunger in import-dependent countries already in crisis.
“Even if the conflict in the Middle East were to end now, food price shocks and inflation are likely to continue over the next six months,” he said.
Even before the latest conflict, West Africa and the Sahel were expected to remain under pressure from conflict and persistent inflation, particularly in Nigeria, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
Nigeria alone is projected to see one of the largest increases in food insecurity in 2026, with an additional 4.1 million people expected to face acute hunger.
In East Africa, failed rains across much of the Horn of Africa are expected to deepen suffering in Somalia and Kenya, where drought, insecurity, high food prices, and reduced humanitarian aid are likely to worsen conditions.
The report also warned that funding for food-related humanitarian and development efforts fell sharply in 2025 and is expected to decline further.
Humanitarian food-sector funding dropped by about 39% in 2025 compared to 2024, while development assistance decreased by at least 15%.
