Preventing famine before it’s too late by FAO, World Food Programme, agencies   Nov. 2025   A new joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warns that acute food insecurity is deepening in 16 hunger hotspots, which threatens to drive millions more into famine or risk of famine.   Time is quickly running out to avert widespread starvation in the areas of highest concern. Conflict, economic shocks, extreme weather, and critical funding shortfalls are exacerbating dire conditions. Despite the growing urgency to provide lifesaving assistance at scale, funding is perilously limited.   The latest Hunger Hotspots report, which covers the period from November 2025 through May 2026, finds that in 14 of the 16 hotspots­ identified, conflict and violence are the primary drivers of hunger.   The report cites six countries and territories of highest concern - Haiti, Mali, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen – where populations face an imminent risk of catastrophic hunger (IPC/CH Phase 5).   Six more countries – Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, and the Syrian Arab Republic – are classified as “very high concern”. The other four hotspots are Burkina Faso, Chad, Kenya and the situation of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.   Funding gaps driving aid reductions   As these hunger hotspots edge closer to catastrophic conditions, or even famine, humanitarian funding is falling dangerously short. As of the end of October 2025, only US$10.5 billion out of the US$29 billion required to assist people most at risk had been received.   Severe shortfalls are crippling emergency responses, forcing deep ration cuts and reducing access to food for the most vulnerable groups with refugee food assistance at a breaking point.   Assistance coverage has dropped across most hunger hotspots. WFP has been forced to tighten targeting criteria and reduce assistance for refugees and displaced people. At the same time, critical nutrition and school feeding programmes have been suspended in some countries, leaving children, refugees, and displaced families at extreme risk.   FAO warns that funding shortages are also critically undermining efforts to protect agricultural livelihoods, which are essential for stabilizing food production and preventing recurring crises. Without urgent financing, vital livelihood support – such as seeds, livestock health services, and anticipatory agricultural action – will not reach communities before planting seasons begin or new shocks occur. This will erode resilience and heighten the risk of future crises.   Across the hunger hotspot countries, household food production and incomes remain insufficient to meet basic needs. Programmes that build resilience are now crucial to protect livelihoods and reduce dependence on emergency aid.   Preventing famine before it’s too late   FAO and WFP stress that famine is almost always predictable and preventable. Together, they call on the international community to urgently refocus global attention on famine prevention and scale up investments in long-term food security and resilience.   “The world’s early warning systems work – this is fundamental for early action,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. “We must move from reacting to crises, to preventing them. Investing in livelihoods, resilience and social protection before hunger peaks will save lives and resources.   Famine prevention is not just a moral duty - it is a smart investment in long-term peace and stability. Peace is a prerequisite for food security and the right to food is a basic human right.”   FAO and WFP urge governments, donors, and partners to heed the warnings signalled by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system and Cadre Harmonisé (CH), and act urgently before conditions reach catastrophic thresholds.   Anticipatory action – assistance before a crisis strikes to enable populations to withstand hunger shocks – saves lives and is far more cost-effective than delayed crisis response, while sustained investments in resilience-building are essential to protect rural livelihoods and prevent the escalation of hunger.   They also stress the urgent need to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access in conflict-affected areas, so that life-saving food, nutrition, and agricultural assistance can reach those in need.   “We are on the brink of a completely preventable hunger catastrophe that threatens widespread starvation in multiple countries,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. “Mothers are skipping meals so their children can eat, and families are exhausting what little they have left as they struggle to survive. We urgently need new funding and unimpeded access – a failure to act now will only drive further instability, migration, and conflict.”   FAO and WFP emphasize that famine is preventable, but only with political will, leadership, adequate funding, and collective accountability. Millions of lives depend on decisive action now.   http://www.wfp.org/news/new-fao-wfp-report-warns-shrinking-window-prevent-millions-more-people-facing-acute-food http://www.fightfoodcrises.net/hunger-hotspots http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/en/   18 Nov. 2025   Global hunger deepens - 318 million people to face crisis levels of hunger or worse in 2026   The world is facing a global hunger crisis with inadequate resources to respond, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today.   According to WFP’s 2026 Global Outlook, a staggering 318 million people face crisis levels of hunger or worse next year - more than double the figure recorded in 2019. However, declines in global humanitarian funding are forcing WFP to prioritize food assistance to roughly one-third of those in need.   In 2026, the agency aims to reach 110 million of the most vulnerable at an estimated cost of $13 billion, but current funding forecasts indicate WFP may only receive close to half that goal.   “The world is grappling with simultaneous famines - in Gaza and parts of Sudan. This is completely unacceptable in the twenty-first century,” stressed Cindy McCain, WFP Executive Director. “Across the globe, hunger is becoming more entrenched. WFP has proven time and again that early, effective, and innovative solutions can save lives and change lives – but we desperately need more support to continue this vital work.”   In 2025 WFP’s famine prevention efforts pulled several communities back from the brink of starvation. Yet, the global food crisis shows no signs of abating in 2026 as conflict, extreme weather events, and economic instability are expected to drive another year of severe food insecurity.   In 2026, WFP will continue working on delivering emergency food and nutrition assistance to communities in need and to vulnerable families who depend on humanitarian assistance to survive.   “WFP provides a critical lifeline to people on the frontlines of conflicts and weather disasters, as well as those forced to leave their homes, and we are transforming how we work to invest in long-term solutions to address food insecurity,” Executive Director McCain added. “Ending entrenched hunger demands much more sustained support and real global commitment and collaboration.”   WFP is urging the international community to invest in proven solutions to stop the spread of hunger and get back on track in 2026 towards a world with zero hunger.   2026 WFP Global Outlook: http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-prioritize-feeding-110-million-hungriest-2026-global-hunger-deepens-amidst-uncertain http://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000170274/download/ Visit the related web page
	More than 400 million children globally live in poverty by UNICEF   Nov. 2025   More than 1 in 5 children in low- and middle-income countries – or 417 million – are severely deprived in at least two vital areas critical for their health, development, and wellbeing, according to UNICEF’s flagship report issued on World Children’s Day today.   The State of the World’s Children 2025: Ending Child Poverty – Our Shared Imperative draws on data from over 130 low- and middle-income countries to assess the breadth of multidimensional poverty by measuring deprivations across six categories: Education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation, and water. The analysis shows that 118 million children experience three or more deprivations, and 17 million face four or more deprivations.   “Children growing up in poverty and deprived of essentials like good nutrition, proper sanitation and shelter, face devastating consequences for their health and development,” said UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell.   “It doesn’t have to be this way. When governments commit to ending child poverty by implementing effective policies, they can unlock a world of possibilities for children.”   The highest rates of multidimensional poverty among children are concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In Chad, for example, 64 per cent of children face two or more severe deprivations, and just under 25 per cent face three or more.   Sanitation is the most widespread severe deprivation, with 65 per cent of children lacking access to a toilet in low-income countries, 26 per cent in lower-middle income countries, and 11 per cent in upper-middle income countries. A lack of adequate sanitation can increase children’s exposure to diseases.   The share of children facing one or more severe deprivations in low-and-middle-income countries dropped from 51 per cent in 2013 to 41 per cent in 2023, largely due to prioritising child rights in national policies and economic planning. However, progress is stalling.   Conflict, climate and environmental crises, demographic shifts, mounting national debt and widening technological divides are compounding poverty. At the same time, unprecedented cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA) risk deepening child deprivation across low- and middle-income countries.   Yet progress towards ending child poverty is possible. For example, Tanzania achieved a 46-percentage point reduction in multidimensional child poverty between 2000 and 2023, partially driven by government cash support grants, and empowering poor households to make their own financial decisions. While in Bangladesh, child poverty dropped by 32-percentage points over the same period, thanks to government-led initiatives that increased education and electricity access, improved housing quality, and investment in water and sanitation services that reduced open defecation from 17 per cent in 2000 to zero in 2022.   Poverty undermines children’s health, development, and learning – leading to weaker job prospects, shorter lifespans, and increased rates of depression and anxiety. The report highlights that the youngest children, those with disabilities, and those living in crises are particularly vulnerable.   The report also examines monetary poverty, which further limits children’s access to food, education, and health services. According to the latest data, more than 19 per cent of children globally live in extreme monetary poverty, surviving on less than US$3 per day. Nearly 90 per cent of these children are in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.   The report includes an analysis on 37 high-income countries, showing that about 50 million children – or 23 per cent of the child population in these countries – live in relative monetary poverty, meaning their household has significantly less income than most others in their country, potentially limiting their ability to participate fully in everyday life.   While poverty declined, on average, by 2.5 per cent across the 37 countries between 2013 and 2023 – progress has stagnated or reversed in many cases. In France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, for example, child poverty increased by over 20 per cent. During the same period, Slovenia reduced its poverty rate by more than a quarter, largely thanks to a strong family benefits system and minimum wage legislation.   The State of the World’s Children 2025 highlights that ending child poverty is achievable, and underscores the importance of centering child rights, as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, in all government strategies, policies and actions aimed at poverty reduction, by:   Making ending child poverty a national priority. Integrating children’s needs into economic policies and budgets. Providing social protection programmes, including cash support to families.   Expanding access to essential public services, such as education, healthcare, water, sanitation, nutrition, and housing. Promoting decent work for parents and caregivers to strengthen their economic security, which is closely linked to children’s progress.   The report comes at a time when many governments around the world are scaling back foreign assistance. Cuts in development aid could result in the deaths of 4.5 million children under the age of 5 by 2030, according to The Lancet. At the same time, recent UNICEF estimates show the cuts could leave six million more children out of school by next year.   “Too many children were already deprived of their basic needs, even before the global funding crisis threatened to make things far worse,” said Russell. “This is not the time to retreat. It’s a time to build on the hard-earned progress for children that has been made over the years.   Governments and businesses can do that by strengthening investment in key services for children to keep them healthy and protected and ensuring that they have access to essentials like good nutrition, especially in fragile and humanitarian contexts. Investing in children delivers on a healthier and more peaceful world – for everyone.”   http://www.unicef.org/reports/state-of-worlds-children/2025 Visit the related web page
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