Global hunger crisis deepens as acute hunger doubles in a decade

Acute food insecurity and malnutrition levels remain alarmingly high and deeply entrenched, according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2026, released on Friday by an international alliance. In its 10th edition, the GRFC shows that acute hunger has doubled over the past decade.  According to the GRFC, Famine was confirmed in two places in 2025 in parts of the Gaza Strip and Sudan, marking the first dual famine confirmation since formal global monitoring began.  It finds that 266 million people across 47 countries experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2025 – nearly a quarter of the population analysed and almost double the share recorded in 2016. The report paints a stark picture: hunger is no longer a series of short-term emergencies, but a persistent and increasingly concentrated global challenge.
The report further highlights that acute food insecurity is heavily concentrated, with 10 countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen. It adds that Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen were among the worst affected, experiencing the most severe food crises both in terms of the proportion of their populations and the absolute number of people in acute food insecurity.Children are among the most affected. In 2025, 35.5 million children were acutely malnourished, including nearly 10 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition – a life-threatening condition that dramatically increases the risk of death. FAO Director Rein Paulsen says that Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen were among the worst affected, experiencing the most severe food crises both in terms of the proportion of their populations and the absolute number of people in acute food insecurity.

Acute hunger doubled in the past decade.

For the 1st time, the Global Report on Food Crises reports two famines in the same year: in #GazaStrip & Sudan.#AgricultureCan be the solution, but we need boosted, coordinated action, says @FAO's @ReinPaulsen.#FightFoodCrises #GRFC26 pic.twitter.com/ifywVQM0Sq

— Food and Agriculture Organization (@FAO) April 24, 2026

Forced displacement is compounding the crisis. The report added that more than 85 million people were displaced across food-crisis contexts last year, with displaced populations consistently facing higher levels of hunger than host communities.