Global hunger crisis deepens as famine confirmed in Gaza and Sudanfamine confirmed in Gaza and Sudan simultaneously
Famine was confirmed in two locations in 2025—areas of the Gaza Strip and Sudan—marking the first dual famine confirmation since formal famine reporting began, according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2026. The World Food Programme reports that 318 million people were already facing crisis levels of hunger or worse in 2026, with the Middle East conflict alone pushing an estimated 45 million additional people toward acute hunger.
Conflict, drought, and shrinking humanitarian funding are driving the crisis across multiple regions. Nigeria faces the world's largest food crisis with 31.8 million people in acute food insecurity, while Sudan's civil war has displaced over 14 million people with famine already declared in five areas. Unless immediate action is taken, experts warn that famine will spread to additional regions in 2026.
Humanitarian Organizations
Aid agencies emphasize that the crisis stems from overlapping factors—armed conflict, climate shocks, and economic collapse—compounded by drastic cuts to international humanitarian funding. They stress that coordinated diplomatic solutions and safe humanitarian access across conflict lines are essential to prevent further deterioration and save lives.
International Financial Institutions
The World Bank and UN Food and Agriculture Organization highlight how the Middle East conflict is disrupting critical supply chains, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz, raising fertilizer and energy prices globally. They warn that commodity price spikes and trade route disruptions are setting the stage for sharper food price increases in coming months, with fertilizer prices surging nearly 46 percent between February and March 2026.
- Gaza's famine was first confirmed on August 22, 2025, while Sudan's civil war has created famine conditions across five separate areas since mid-2023.
- Sudan's famine in North Darfur's Zamzam camp preceded Gaza's by over a year, making it among the earliest formally verified famine sites in the current global crisis.
- The Strait of Hormuz disruptions from Middle East conflict are driving global fertilizer prices up 46 percent in early 2026, amplifying food insecurity far beyond conflict zones.
Sudan Civil War
Sudan's civil war has entered its fourth year, increasingly resembling a war of attrition defined by a de facto territorial division between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with the SAF recently reclaiming the presidential palace in central Khartoum as a major tactical victory[1][3].
1 January
Open fighting breaks out between the SAF and RSF and spreads across Sudan.1 January
Talks over integrating the RSF into the army fail to resolve the power struggle.1 January
A military takeover ends the civilian transition and deepens rivalry between Burhan and Hemedti.
