A joint UN report has warned that worsening conflicts and funding gaps could push millions into famine, listing Nigeria among 16 global hunger hotspots.
According to a report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), millions more people across the globe could face famine as funding shortfalls and ongoing conflicts worsen already dire food insecurity conditions.
The joint report, released on Wednesday, identified 16 hunger crisis hotspots, warning that conflict and violence were the primary drivers of acute food shortages. The Rome-based agencies listed Haiti, Mali, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen as countries “where populations face an imminent risk of catastrophic hunger.”
Other nations marked as “very high concern” include Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, and Syria, along with Burkina Faso, Chad, Kenya, and the Rohingya refugee situation in Bangladesh.
“We are on the brink of a completely preventable hunger catastrophe that threatens widespread starvation in multiple countries,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain, warning that inaction “will only drive further instability, migration, and conflict.”
The report noted that only $10.5 billion of the required $29 billion for humanitarian aid had been received, forcing the WFP to cut assistance for refugees and suspend school feeding programmes in some countries.
FAO cautioned that without urgent funding, agricultural livelihoods — crucial to stabilising food production — could collapse.