The World Food Programme (WFP) has raised alarm over an unprecedented escalation in global hunger, confirming two famines in 2025—the first time this century that more than one famine has been declared in a single year. According to Jean-Martin Bauer, Director of the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Service at WFP, the situation is now “worse than ever before.”
“We have two confirmed famines in 2025 – the first time this century – things have never been this bad,” Bauer said. Since joining WFP in 2001, only five famines have been recorded: Somalia in 2011; South Sudan in 2017 and 2020; Sudan since 2024; and Gaza in August 2025.
Families Trapped in Conflict and Hunger
Both Sudan and Gaza are currently experiencing IPC Phase 5—catastrophic levels of food insecurity—amid ongoing wars that have displaced civilians, destroyed livelihoods, and disrupted access to basic services.
“Civilians are dying on a large scale amid conflict,” Bauer warns. “We now have evidence, and it’s on us to act.”
Globally, the hunger outlook is worsening at an explosive pace. In 2026, WFP projects that 318 million people will be facing IPC Phase 3 (crisis levels) or worse—more than double the figure reported in 2019.
‘Scissor Effect’: Funding Plummets as Needs Surge
Even as hunger escalates, key humanitarian budgets are shrinking. “We’re seeing acute need in different geographies at a time when donors are pulling out,” Bauer said. “It’s a scissor effect – needs are zooming up, but the money to meet them is evaporating.”
Across countries affected by conflict and climate extremes, health facilities offering life-saving nutrition and medical care—often supported by UNICEF and WFP partners—are shutting due to financial shortfalls.
In Afghanistan, for the first time in decades, WFP lacks a full-scale winter response, threatening families already on the brink from conflict, drought and economic collapse. Similar patterns are emerging in South Sudan and other fragile states.
US$13 Billion Needed for 2026 Response
WFP is appealing for US$13 billion in 2026 to reach 110 million of the most vulnerable people—only a third of those in need. Without long-term solutions, Bauer warns, humanitarian needs will balloon even further.
“When food insecurity rises, migration rises,” he noted. “People will move to feed their families. We’re already seeing this.”
Innovation Helping—but Cannot Replace Peace
The agency continues to invest heavily in technology, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and satellite imagery to predict food needs, plan logistics, and respond faster after disasters.
WFP’s anticipatory action model—using early-warning data to dispatch assistance before disasters hit—has proven highly cost-effective. “Every dollar invested can save up to US$7 in averted losses,” WFP reports.
Recent storms Melissa in the Caribbean and Fung-wong in the Philippines demonstrated how pre-positioned food stocks and cash assistance can prevent disaster before it fully sets in. But funding gaps are now threatening such progress.
“In Haiti, we lost contingency stocks due to financial cuts,” Bauer said. “That’s an asset we need to rebuild.”
Despite everything, WFP interventions this year successfully helped reverse famine conditions in areas of Sudan, South Sudan and Haiti. However, Bauer stressed that no amount of innovation or investment can stop hunger while wars continue to rage.
A Call for Political Courage
“We need continued political engagement to end the violence,” Bauer said. “Hunger will persist as long as conflict persists.”
With needs spiking and aid budgets falling, he said the global community is at a critical moment.
“Now it’s really a vulnerable time for the entire humanitarian sector. We cannot allow a humanitarian vacuum to open in the parts of the world most exposed to hunger and crisis.”
As 2025 ends, millions face famine—not due to a lack of food, but a lack of peace, cooperation and political will.
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