The report from the United Nations World Food Programme warns that if the conflict with Iran continues until the summer of 2026, the number of people experiencing acute hunger will increase by 45 million.
Thus, the total number of people on the brink of starvation will exceed 319 million.
Experts link this catastrophic forecast not to a shortage of grain, but to a paralysis of global logistics and an energy shock. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which is a crucial route for 20% of global oil supplies and a significant share of fertilizers, creates a domino effect.
The transportation of humanitarian aid to Africa and Asia has increased by 18–25% in just two weeks.
The shortage of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers, which were previously imported from the Gulf of Basra, threatens the planting campaign in the Southern Hemisphere.
Domestic prices for staple foods in importing countries are rising twice as fast as in developed economies.
The situation is particularly critical in Sudan, where the war in the Red Sea blocks aid supplies, in Yemen, which relies 90% on food imports, as well as in the Gaza Strip, Haiti, and South Sudan. A significant increase in the number of hungry people is expected in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and countries in West Africa (Nigeria, Chad).
Leaders of humanitarian missions emphasize that without urgent diplomatic intervention, the world may face a wave of destabilization and new migration crises.
The record-level global hunger: WFP UN warning was first published on K-News.
