Global Report on Food Crises 2026 Warns Famine Confirmed In Gaza Strip And Sudan

A new Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2026 warns that famine risks are rising, with famine confirmed in two places in 2025—areas of the Gaza Strip and Sudan—marking “the first such dual confirmation since formal famine reporting began,” according to Al Jazeera.

“Famine was confirmed in two places in 2025 – areas of the Gaza Strip and Sudan – the first such dual confirmation since formal famine reporting began, according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2026”

Al Jazeera

The report says the annual GRFC, “produced by a coalition of 18 humanitarian and development partners,” found that “acute food insecurity remained widespread in 2025.”

Al Jazeera

Across 47 countries and territories experiencing food crises, the GRFC says “22.9 percent of their populations – or about 266 million people – experienced acute food insecurity last year,” a marginal rise from “22.7 percent in 2024” but nearly double the “11.3 percent recorded in 2016,” as described by Al Jazeera.

In absolute terms, Al Jazeera reports that the number of people affected grew from “108 million in 2016 to 265.7 million in 2025,” after peaking at “281.6 million in 2023.”

The report cautioned that the “slightly lower headline figure compared with 2024 mainly reflects a reduction in the number of countries covered – from 53 to 47 – rather than any real decline in needs,” Al Jazeera adds.

The GRFC’s hunger-monitoring framework uses the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), and Al Jazeera says “Famine – the most extreme classification under the hunger-monitoring Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system – was confirmed in parts of the Gaza Strip and Sudan in 2025.”

It also says “the risk of famine remained in other areas of Gaza, Sudan and South Sudan, and those projections extended into 2026,” extending the timeline of concern beyond 2025.

The GRFC’s warning is anchored in IPC thresholds that define when hunger becomes famine, and the report spells out the criteria in Al Jazeera’s account.

Al Jazeera says, “According to the IPC, famine is when: - At least 20 percent of households face extreme food shortages.

Mr Mondialisation

Acute malnutrition affects more than 30 percent of the population.

The death rate due to starvation or hunger-related causes exceeds two deaths per 10,000 people per day.”

It adds that “Six countries and territories had populations facing “catastrophic conditions”, or Phase 5, the highest level in the IPC’s classification of food insecurity,” and those populations “numbered 1.4 million people, a more-than ninefold increase since 2016.”

The Gaza Strip is described as the worst affected, with Al Jazeera reporting “640,700 people facing famine conditions, equivalent to 32 percent of its population, the highest share recorded globally.”

Sudan follows with “637,200 people, or 1 percent of its population,” in the same Al Jazeera passage.

Beyond headline hunger figures, the GRFC described by Al Jazeera emphasizes malnutrition among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women, with numbers that extend across multiple countries.

“Armed conflicts, economic shocks, climate upheavals… The causes of hunger worldwide are numerous and, unfortunately, persistent”

Mr Mondialisation

Al Jazeera reports that “An estimated 35.5 million children were acutely malnourished in 2025 across 23 countries experiencing nutrition crises,” including “just under 10 million with severe acute malnutrition, the most life-threatening form.”

It says “A further 25.7 million children suffered from moderate acute malnutrition,” and that “About 9.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women were also acutely malnourished across 21 countries with available data.”

The OCHA account of the GRFC 2025/2024 cycle similarly highlights child malnutrition, stating “Près de 38 millions d'enfants de moins de cinq ans ont souffert de malnutrition aiguë à la suite de 26 crises nutritionnelles.”

UNICEF’s report on the GRFC for 2023 also stresses the scale of acute malnutrition, saying “more than 36 million children under 5 suffering from acute malnutrition in 32 countries.”

UNICEF adds that “Acute malnutrition worsened in 2023, especially among those displaced by conflicts and disasters,” linking malnutrition to displacement and violence.

In the same UNICEF account, António Guterres is quoted saying, “This crisis requires an urgent response. It is essential to use the data from this report to transform food systems and address the root causes of food insecurity and malnutrition,” tying the report’s findings to calls for action.

The GRFC described by Al Jazeera attributes the persistence of acute hunger to multiple drivers, with conflict and violence leading in many places and weather extremes and economic shocks also playing major roles.

Al Jazeera says “Conflict and violence were the primary drivers of acute food insecurity in 19 countries where 147.4 million people were affected,” representing “more than half of those facing acute hunger globally.”

Al Jazeera

It reports that “Weather extremes were the primary driver in 16 countries, affecting 87.5 million people,” while “economic shocks led in 12 countries, with 29.8 million people affected.”

Against those drivers, Al Jazeera says humanitarian and development financing declined, stating that “humanitarian and development financing for areas facing food crises declined in 2025, falling back to levels last seen in 2016-2017.”

The report’s projections for 2026 are described as based on “a partial picture as of March,” with “severity levels remain critical in multiple contexts,” and Al Jazeera adds that “the escalation of conflict in the Middle East exposes food-crisis countries to direct and indirect risks of global agricultural and food market disruptions.”

In the OCHA account, the same broad drivers are listed for 2024, stating that “Les conflits, les chocs économiques, les extrêmes climatiques et les déplacements forcés ont continué à alimenter l'insécurité alimentaire et la malnutrition dans le monde.”

LACTUACHO.com’s local report similarly emphasizes that “Since 2023, needs have exceeded available resources,” and that “Humanitarian operations are today desperately overloaded, and many have had to cut back on assistance to the most vulnerable.”

The GRFC also links hunger to displacement, with Al Jazeera reporting that the number of forcibly displaced people in the 46 countries covered fell slightly in 2025 to 85.1 million.

“Rome, April 24, 2024 — According to the latest Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), nearly 282 million people in 59 countries and territories experienced high levels of acute hunger in 2023, representing a global increase of 24 million from the previous year”

UNICEF

It says “About 62.6 million of them were internally displaced across 34 countries, and 22.5 million were refugees and asylum seekers in 44 countries.”

Mr Mondialisation

Al Jazeera warns that without “a sustained push to address the structural drivers of hunger,” the world’s most fragile countries will continue to bear “a disproportionate share of the global hunger burden well into 2026.”

The OCHA account similarly frames displacement as a key factor, describing “une forte augmentation de la faim due aux déplacements forcés” and stating “près de 95 millions de personnes déplacées de force” living in countries facing food crises.

In LACTUACHO.com’s account of the GRFC, the report defines what it means for a food crisis to be “major,” saying it is “major” if “more than one million people or more than 20 percent of the county’s total population are facing a phase 3 or higher crisis, or if at least one area is classified as Phase 4 or higher.”

That same LACTUACHO.com report quotes the Global Network Against Food Crises calling for “a transformative approach that integrates peace, prevention, and development actions into large-scale emergency efforts to break the cycle of acute hunger.”

UNICEF’s account echoes the same urgency by quoting António Guterres again, saying “It will be vital to use the data contained in this report to transform food systems and address the root causes of food insecurity and malnutrition.”