Acute hunger doubles to 266 mn as humanitarian food aid falls 59 percent

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 16— Acute hunger has doubled worldwide over the past decade, affecting 266 million people across 47 countries and territories, as humanitarian food aid funding falls sharply, according to a new report by Action Against Hunger.

The report, released ahead of World Food Day, warns that worsening food crises are coinciding with shrinking resources for emergency assistance, leaving millions of vulnerable people at greater risk of hunger and malnutrition.

Titled The 10 Largest Global Food Crises, the report finds that humanitarian food aid in crisis-hit countries fell by 59 per cent between 2022 and 2025, returning to levels last recorded in 2016 and 2017.

Official development assistance also declined by 23 per cent in 2025, with a further drop expected this year, threatening efforts to respond to growing food insecurity.

The findings draw on data from the 2026 Global Report on Food Crises, FAO-WFP Hunger Hotspots reports and Action Against Hunger’s operations in more than 50 countries.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria and Sudan account for 82.9 million people facing acute hunger, roughly a third of the global total.

Across the 10 countries with the largest food crises, 177 million people face acute hunger. The list includes Nigeria, the DRC, Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Sudan and Syria.

South Sudan entered the top 10 for the first time, with more than half its population experiencing severe food insecurity.

Conflict and displacement remain major drivers of the crisis, disrupting livelihoods and cutting families off from farmland, employment and markets.

The sharpest increases in acute hunger were recorded in Myanmar, the DRC, Afghanistan and Yemen, where conflict has compounded existing humanitarian needs.

In 2025, famine was confirmed in parts of Gaza and Sudan, marking the first time since the Global Report on Food Crises began in 2017 that famine was confirmed in two locations in the same year.

“When funding is cut, the impact on vulnerable people is immediate. Funding decides where our teams can work, how many children we can treat, and which communities we have to leave behind,” said Dr Charles Owubah, chief executive officer of Action Against Hunger.

He said the organisation was developing more efficient ways to collect data and predict hunger hotspots, enabling humanitarian teams to intervene before food insecurity deteriorates further.

“By responding early, we can prevent acute hunger and save countless lives. Now, we need donors to stay the course,” Owubah said.

Children bear the brunt

Children remain among those most affected by the worsening food crises, with nearly 30 million children under five suffering from acute malnutrition in the 10 hardest-hit countries in 2025.

Of these, 7.82 million experienced severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition that requires urgent treatment.

Poor access to clean water and disease outbreaks are compounding the crisis. In Sudan, more than 60 per cent of water treatment plants are out of service, while the DRC is experiencing its worst cholera epidemic in 25 years, according to the report.

Humanitarian agencies are also facing growing obstacles in reaching affected communities, including insecurity, administrative restrictions and funding shortages.

In South Sudan, funding losses forced Action Against Hunger to reduce its workforce by more than 60 per cent, leaving many women and children walking between four and eight hours to access health and nutrition services.

The organisation warned that declining assistance was weakening not only emergency responses but also the systems needed to monitor hunger and identify communities requiring urgent support.

Some countries were excluded from this year’s analysis because of gaps in available data, while aid cuts have further undermined the capacity to collect reliable information on food insecurity.

Call for sustained funding

Action Against Hunger is urging governments and donors to protect civilians and humanitarian workers, provide flexible multi-year funding and invest in measures that prevent food crises from escalating.

The organisation also called for stronger local food systems, climate adaptation initiatives and early warning systems to help communities withstand conflict, environmental shocks and other disruptions.

Owubah said hunger on the current scale could be prevented through coordinated interventions addressing nutrition, healthcare, clean water and livelihoods.

“When nutrition, healthcare, clean water, and livelihoods are tackled together, communities are better able to withstand shocks and recover from them. We know what works,” he said.

Action Against Hunger works in more than 50 countries and reaches over 21 million people annually through programmes aimed at preventing malnutrition, responding to hunger hotspots and strengthening community resilience.