In their Hunger Hotspots report released Wednesday, the UN agencies said acute food insecurity is deepening between November 2025 and May 2026, leaving millions on the brink of starvation.
Conflict and deliberate restrictions on aid were cited as the leading causes of hunger in 14 of the affected regions.
Haiti, Mali, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen were listed as the areas of “highest concern,” where populations face imminent risk of catastrophic hunger.
Other regions under “very high concern” include Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, and Syria.
Burkina Faso, Chad, Kenya, and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are also facing severe food crises.
The report warned that “time is quickly running out to avert widespread starvation” as humanitarian funding remains dangerously low.
As of late October, only $10.5 billion of the $29 billion required had been received, forcing agencies to slash food rations and suspend vital nutrition and school feeding programs.
“The world’s early warning systems work — this is fundamental for early action,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu.
“We must move from reacting to crises to preventing them.
Investing in livelihoods, resilience and social protection before hunger peaks will save lives and resources.
Famine prevention is not just a moral duty — it is a smart investment in long-term peace and stability.
Peace is a prerequisite for food security and the right to food is a basic human right.”
WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said, “We are on the brink of a completely preventable hunger catastrophe that threatens widespread starvation in multiple countries.”
The report urged urgent international funding, political commitment, and unrestricted humanitarian access — a call implicitly directed at powers and occupying regimes whose blockades and wars continue to weaponize hunger against entire populations, most notably the besieged people of Palestine.