Pakistan among world’s top 10 hunger hotspots as acute food crisis deepens

The report from the Global Network Against Food Crises reveals that acute food insecurity remains highly concentrated. Ten countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen — accounted for two-thirds of all people facing high levels of acute hunger.  Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen experienced the largest food crises both in terms of the share and absolute number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

At the most extreme end, famine was identified in Gaza Governorate and parts of Sudan in 2025 by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system. This marks the first time since the GRFC began reporting that famine has been confirmed in two separate contexts in the same year. This signals a sharp escalation in the most extreme forms of hunger and malnutrition, driven primarily by conflict and restricted humanitarian access, and exacerbated by forced displacement.

In total, 266 million people in 47 countries/territories experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2025, representing almost 23 percent of the analysed population – a proportion that is marginally higher than in 2024 and nearly double the share recorded in 2016. In 2025, the severity of acute food insecurity was the second highest on record, with the share of people facing extreme hunger remaining at one of the most critical levels seen in the past two decades. The number of people facing catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5) is nine times higher than it was in 2016.

At the same time, acute malnutrition remains a critical and growing concern. In 2025 alone, 35.5 million children were acutely malnourished, including nearly 10 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Nearly half of food-crisis contexts also faced nutrition crises, reflecting the combined effects of inadequate diets, disease burden, and breakdowns in essential services. In the most severe contexts, including Gaza, Myanmar, South Sudan and Sudan, these compounded shocks have resulted in extreme levels of malnutrition and elevated risks of mortality.

In addition, forced displacement continued to exacerbate food insecurity. More than 85 million people were forcibly displaced across food-crisis contexts in 2025, including internally displaced people, asylum-seekers and refugees with people forced to flee consistently facing higher levels of acute hunger than host communities.

“Conflict remains the primary driver of acute food insecurity and malnutrition for millions around the world, with outright famine emerging in two conflict-affected areas in the same year — an unprecedented development,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in the foreword to the report. “This report is a call to action urging global leaders to summon the political will to rapidly scale up investment in lifesaving aid, and work to end the conflicts that inflict so much suffering on so many.”

Outlook for 2026 remains bleak

Looking ahead, the report warns that severe levels of acute food insecurity remain critical in multiple contexts in 2026. Ongoing conflicts, climate variability and global economic uncertainty — including risks to food markets — are likely to sustain or worsen conditions in many countries.

In particular, while a full assessment is premature, the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East – in addition to causing further displacement in a region already hosting millions of forcibly displaced and returnees - exposes countries/territories with food crises to both direct and indirect risks of global agrifood market disruptions.

Immediate food security implications are mainly regional, given the Middle East’s dependence on food imports, but are having immediate impacts on the purchasing power of already-vulnerable communities as energy and logistics costs rise. At the same time, Gulf countries are major energy and fertilizer exporters, and continued transport disruptions could create wider spillover risks for global agrifood markets, the report warns.

Declining funding threatens response capacity

A major concern highlighted in this year’s report is the sharp decline in humanitarian and development financing for food crises. Funding for food crises responses and for food security and nutrition has fallen back to levels last seen nearly a decade ago, limiting the ability of governments and humanitarian actors to respond effectively. Data collection has also been impacted, with fewer countries able to produce reliable and disaggregated food security and nutrition estimates.