According to international organizations, acute food shortages have increased significantly in numerous countries around the world. Around 266 million people in 47 countries were affected by severe food shortages last year, according to the “Global Report on Food Crises” published Friday in Rome. This is almost twice as many as in 2016.
According to the report, food shortages were particularly severe in ten countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, South Sudan, and Syria.
Two-thirds of the world’s people suffering from acute food shortages live in these ten countries, the report states, based on data from the UN, the EU, and humanitarian organizations. The report is published annually by UN agencies, the EU, and other organizations. Officially declared famines are currently occurring in parts of Sudan and the Gaza Strip.
The outlook for 2026 is “bleak” because climate change is “worsening conditions in many countries” and international aid is declining, the report further states. Another factor contributing to food insecurity is the war with Iran, which is leading to migration and driving up fertilizer costs.
The head of the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Alvaro Lario, told AFP that more aid for small-scale farmers is needed, for example, for investments in heat-resistant crops. He added that crises could also be mitigated by farmers producing fertilizer locally.
The aid organization Action Against Hunger called for “reliable financial commitments” and political initiatives to prevent famines. The decline in funding for humanitarian aid is “incomprehensible,” said the organization’s executive director, Jan Sebastian Friedrich-Rust.
AFP translated by Blackout News