The share of people facing a “food crisis” in dozens of countries around the globe has doubled across the past decade, a new report finds – with the new data coming in the wake of figures that show that foreign aid has also fallen to a 10-year low.
The annual report, co-published by aid partners including the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) and the EU, also notes that for the first time in its ten-year history, two territories – Sudan and Gaza – were classified as being in a state of famine last year.
“Food crisis” is defined by the integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) as when households experience “significant food consumption gaps” that result in high levels of malnutrition. The percentage of people across the world facing such crisis, or worse, was 11.3 per cent in 2016, but this has risen to to 22.9 per cent in 2025
“It’s been a decade since this report shed light on the alarming state of hunger worldwide. Unfortunately, the situation has only worsened,” said WFP executive director Cindy McCain.
“The same countries are caught in a devastating cycle of hunger – fueled by conflict and compounded by inadequate funding,” she continued.
“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.”
Overall, some 266 million people in 47 territories were in a state of food crisis or worse in 2025. The 22.9 per cent of people in the countries analysed is a marginally higher than the 22.7 per cent that were in the same situation in 2024.
Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo top the list for the number of people facing food crises, while Gaza and South Sudan top the list for the share of overall population impacted.
Some 35.5 million children were deemed to have been acutely malnourished last year, including 10 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition, which is considered to be a life-threatening condition.
War and forced displacement are key drivers of food insecurity, the authors report, with more than 85 million people forcibly displaced in food crisis contexts last year.
“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 UN secretary-general António Guterres in his 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.”
UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell added: “Millions of children on the verge of starvation must be a wake‑up call to the world.
“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.”
Looking ahead to 2026, the report warns that ongoing conflicts, climate variability and global economic uncertainty — including risks stemming from ongoing conflict in the Middle East – are likely to sustain or worsen conditions in many countries.
This week, experts told The Independent that there are considerable fears that the War in Iran could hamper aid efforts, with the Strait of Hormuz adding three weeks to the delivery time for humanitarian supplies to Sudan, and driving up fuel prices in Somalia by more than 150 per cent, according to one report.
There are also big concerns about the willingness of Gulf States like Saudi Arabia and Qatar – which last year were collectively a bigger aid donor than the US – to continue providing humanitarian aid.
The authors of the report also warn that sharply declining foreign aid from wealthy countries will limit the ability of governments and humanitarian actors to respond effectively to food crises, with funding for food crises responses falling to levels last seen nearly a decade ago.
That warning comes as the data published earlier in April finds that aid from the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) – a core group of aid donors comprised of the world’s 34 richest nations – fell by 23.1 per cent to $174.3bn (£129.8bn) in 2025 compared to 2024.
The US alone drove three-quarters of the decline with a 57 per cent cut in its aid, while major cuts were also reported by other big donors, including Germany (17.4 per cent), France (10.9 per cent), the United Kingdom (10.8 per cent), and Japan (5.6 per cent).
The extremely steep decline in funding from the US meant that Germany provided more aid ($29.1bn) than the US ($29bn) for the first time in history.
This article has been produced as part of The Independent’s Rethinking Global Aid project
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