Acute food insecurity and malnutrition remain alarmingly high as crises deepen, United Nations (UN), European Union (EU) and partners warn in new report

Acute food insecurity and malnutrition levels remain alarmingly high and deeply entrenched, with crises increasingly concentrated in a core group of countries, according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2026, released today by an international alliance. In its tenth edition, the GRFC shows that acute hunger has doubled over the past decade, with two famines declared last year for the first time in the report’s history.

The report from the Global Network Against Food Crises reveals that acute food insecurity remains highly concentrated. 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.  Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen experienced the largest food crises both in terms of the share and absolute number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

At the most extreme end, famine was identified in Gaza Governorate and parts of Sudan in 2025 by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system. This marks the first time since the GRFC began reporting that famine has been confirmed in two separate contexts in the same year. This signals a sharp escalation in the most extreme forms of hunger and malnutrition, driven primarily by conflict and restricted humanitarian access, and exacerbated by forced displacement.

In total, 266 million people in 47 countries/territories experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2025, representing almost 23 percent of the analysed population – a proportion that is marginally higher than in 2024 and nearly double the share recorded in 2016. In 2025, the severity of acute food insecurity was the second highest on record, with the share of people facing extreme hunger remaining at one of the most critical levels seen in the past two decades. The number of people facing catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5) is nine times higher than it was in 2016.

At the same time, acute malnutrition remains a critical and growing concern. In 2025 alone, 35.5 million children were acutely malnourished, including nearly 10 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Nearly half of food-crisis contexts also faced nutrition crises, reflecting the combined effects of inadequate diets, disease burden, and breakdowns in essential services. In the most severe contexts, including Gaza, Myanmar, South Sudan and Sudan, these compounded shocks have resulted in extreme levels of malnutrition and elevated risks of mortality.

In addition, forced displacement continued to exacerbate food insecurity. More than 85 million people were forcibly displaced across food-crisis contexts in 2025, including internally displaced people, asylum-seekers and refugees with people forced to flee consistently facing higher levels of acute hunger than host communities.

“Conflict remains the primary driver of acute food insecurity and malnutrition for millions around the world, with outright famine emerging in two conflict-affected areas in the same year — an unprecedented development,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in the foreword to the report. “This report is a call to action urging global leaders 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.”

Outlook for 2026 remains bleak

Looking ahead, the report warns that severe levels of acute food insecurity remain critical in multiple contexts in 2026. Ongoing conflicts, climate variability and global economic uncertainty — including risks to food markets — are likely to sustain or worsen conditions in many countries.

In particular, while a full assessment is premature, the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East – in addition to causing further displacement in a region already hosting millions of forcibly displaced and returnees – exposes countries/territories with food crises to both direct and indirect risks of global agrifood market disruptions.

Immediate food security implications are mainly regional, given the Middle East’s dependence on food imports, but are having immediate impacts on the purchasing power of already-vulnerable communities as energy and logistics costs rise. At the same time, Gulf countries are major energy and fertilizer exporters, and continued transport disruptions could create wider spillover risks for global agrifood markets, the report warns.

Declining funding threatens response capacity

A major concern highlighted in this year’s report is the sharp decline in humanitarian and development financing for food crises. Funding for food crises responses and for food security and nutrition has fallen back to levels last seen nearly a decade ago, limiting the ability of governments and humanitarian actors to respond effectively. Data collection has also been impacted, with fewer countries able to produce reliable and disaggregated food security and nutrition estimates.

Critical data gaps

The apparent decline in the number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity is largely a reflection of declining data availability rather than a real improvement. The 2026 GRFC features the lowest number of countries with data meeting technical requirements in a decade. In 2025, 18 countries and territories lacked comparable data, including several major crises such as Burkina Faso, the Republic of Congo and Ethiopia, which alone accounted for more than 27 million acutely food-insecure people in need of urgent assistance in 2024. This is reflected in the total number of people facing acute food insecurity detailed in the report. While this number is lower than the number in last year’s report, it does not necessarily reflect an improvement in food security contexts, but rather an absence and lack of access to reliable data.

Call to action

The Global Network Against Food Crises underscores that food and nutrition crises are no longer temporary shocks but persistent, predictable, and increasingly concentrated in protracted contexts.

Addressing them requires boosting sustained, coordinated action that reduces humanitarian needs, builds resilience and tackles root causes. Governments, donors, international financial institutions and partners must scale up investment in resilient agrifood systems, climate adaptation, rural livelihoods and inclusive economic opportunities, while strengthening early warning systems and enabling anticipatory action. Preventing the most severe outcomes, including famine, also depends on ensuring safe humanitarian access, upholding international humanitarian law, and reinforcing political commitment to address conflict-driven hunger.

Quotes from principals:

European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib: “The Global Report on Food Crises is multilateral cooperation at its best. For ten years, it has brought humanitarian and development partners together around one shared, trusted analysis of global hunger. A common reference we can all rely on. And what it shows is clear: hunger is getting worse. This report helps us track the trends, compare across crises, and understand where the needs are greatest. Most importantly, it is an early warning and a call to act. The European Union remains firmly committed to fighting food insecurity as a reliable and principled humanitarian donor. We will continue to use this report as our compass to navigate rising hunger in a more complex world.”

European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela: “For ten years, the Global Report on Food Crises has been the world’s reference on acute food insecurity. Unique in its kind, it brings together all major partners to jointly analyse the data and deliver a shared, peer-reviewed assessment, not the perspective of a single organisation, but a collective and trusted evidence base. At a time of growing crises and misinformation, this common analysis is more essential than ever. Food crises are often the first signal of deeper fragility. By supporting the Global Report from the start, the European Union has helped build a vital global public good: reliable information to guide action, save lives and create more resilient food systems. Through this commitment, and now also through the Global Gateway, the European Union continues to work with partner countries to invest in stronger local food production, improve access to key inputs such as fertilisers, and build more resilient and sustainable food systems.”

State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany, Niels Annen: “This year’s Global Report on Food Crises shows that acute food insecurity remains persistently and alarmingly high. That is why we need strong, collective and coordinated action – bridging humanitarian assistance and long-term development cooperation. We need to prevent food and nutrition crises through the transformation of our agriculture and food systems. Responding alone is not enough. Reliable data is the basis for effective interventions. The Global Report on Food Crises is therefore more relevant than ever providing an important, trusted evidence base that enables coordinated action and evidence-based decision making.”

UK Minister for Development, Jenny Chapman: “We live in an increasingly insecure world where conflict, climate change and economic shocks are driving a global hunger crisis. In 2025, more than 39 million people faced emergency levels of food insecurity across 32 countries and territories – almost triple the 2016 level. But we must not grow numb to the harrowing impact of hunger and malnutrition – something I saw for myself when I visited the refugee camps in Adré on the border with Sudan last year. The UK is co-hosting the launch of the 10th Global Report on Food Crises this year, knowing that the fight against hunger requires us to work in partnership, convening our resources and expertise to address the root causes of food insecurity.”

FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu: “The report shows us that acute food insecurity today is not just widespread — it is also persistent and recurring. After ten years of evidence, the message is clear: this is no longer a series of crises, but a structural problem. 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.”

IFAD President Alvaro Lario: “The Global Report on Food Crises shows us that acute food insecurity is driven by the convergence of conflict, economic shocks and climate extremes. Small-scale farmers and producers are often the first impacted by these shocks, yet they sit at the front line of food security. Strengthening their resilience is not optional, but it is a necessary response that generates long-term stability. Investing in water, climate resilient agriculture, rural finance, and market access is often the most effective way to prevent emergency needs from escalating.”

High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, Barham Salih: “Forced displacement and food insecurity are deeply interconnected, forming a vicious cycle that reinforces vulnerability and hardship. Today, 86 per cent of people forced to flee live in countries facing food crises, and nearly half of those countries are situations of protracted displacement. Humanitarian aid saves lives, but it is not enough – we must invest in solutions that enable refugees to become self-reliant and rebuild their lives with dignity.”

UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell: “Millions of children on the verge of starvation must be a wake‑up call to the world. In 2025, more than 35 million children, across 23 countries, remained acutely malnourished, with nearly 10 million suffering from severe wasting. This is not about scarcity of food but about the lack of political will to ensure that children everywhere have access to basic nutrition, safe water and the essential services they rely on to survive and grow. In a world of plenty, there is no reason for a child to suffer or die because of malnutrition.”

World Bank Group Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer, Paschal Donohoe: “Food crises are shaped by overlapping risks — conflict, global price volatility, and intensifying extreme weather events. They affect the most vulnerable first and hardest. This is why preparedness is critical. With better data, smarter tools, and earlier action, we can build resilience that protects people, supports jobs, and safeguards development gains.”

WFP Executive Director, Cindy McCain: “It’s been a decade since this report shed light on the alarming state of hunger worldwide. Unfortunately, the situation has only worsened. Severe hunger has doubled, and famine has been declared in two places. The same countries are caught in a devastating cycle of hunger — fueled by conflict and compounded by inadequate funding. We have the expertise, resources, and knowledge to break the cycle of hunger, prevent famine, and save countless lives. What’s needed now is a collective effort to end conflicts and the necessary resources to drive real change.”

g7+ General Secretary, Helder da Costa: “The effects of these shocks (Food crises in conflict affected countries) endure over the long term, persisting even after periods of relative stability in global conditions. This moment demands not only stronger response—but a strategic shift in how we understand and address food crises. We call for a shift from crisis dependency to self-reliance by investing in local food systems, removing structural and political barriers to food access, and aligning humanitarian, development, and peace efforts into one coherent strategy that addresses both urgent needs and root causes.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).