Today, the 2026 Global Report on Food Crisis was released, revealing a harsh reality we are all too familiar with. Since its first publication in 2016, the situation has worsened dramatically. The number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity has more than doubled, from 105 million in 2016 (11% of the analysed population) to 266 million (22%) people in 2025, driven by conflict, climate shocks and instability. Compounding this crisis, humanitarian funding for food, agriculture and nutrition assistance has plummeted by an estimated 59% between 2022 and 2025, falling back to levels last seen in 2016-2017.
Conflict is the primary driver of food insecurity for half of the people analysed by the report; and 80% of people in acute food insecurity live in contexts of protracted conflict.
In Gaza, almost one in three people is now classified as being in catastrophe. In Sudan, well over half a million people are facing the same fate. For the first time since Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reporting began, famine (IPC 5) was declared in two countries simultaneously, marking an unprecedented, tragic first in the history of global hunger monitoring.
Famine does not happen by accident. It happens when warring parties use starvation as a weapon, when humanitarian workers are blocked, besieged or killed, and when the international community looks away. Of the 47 countries in the report, 19 are experiencing conflict and insecurity, with a total population of 147.7 million people.
Yet as needs soar, funding is collapsing. Humanitarian financing for food crises has fallen back to levels last seen nearly a decade ago. Hunger at this level is a result of political choice, and this report should serve as a wake-up call to every government that has cut humanitarian aid.
Another worrying trend is the lack of data, another consequence of funding cuts. Of the 65 countries identified in the report as facing food insecurity, reliable data exists for only 47. In the remaining 18, funding gaps, access barriers and shrinking survey coverage have left us blind to the severity of hunger on the ground. These same funding cuts are eroding early warning systems designed to detect deteriorating conditions before they tip into catastrophe, meaning crises are increasingly being recognised only once lives have already been lost. We must protect the initiatives that make this collective visibility possible. Without shared knowledge, there can be no collective action.
We thank the UK government for supporting reports such as this, which highlight the growing rise in food insecurity. Yet recognising the crisis must be matched with resolve to end it. Action Against Hunger calls on the UK government and all donors to restore life-saving aid and to use every diplomatic lever to end the conflicts driving millions into starvation. Hunger is never inevitable. It is made by human choices and can be unmade by them too.