In photos: 5 hunger hotspots where famine is looming

Impoverished communities in Palestine (Gaza), Haiti, Mali, South Sudan and Sudan are at risk of famine or already facing catastrophic conditions of acute food insecurity at IPC Phase 5 – the most life-threatening level on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification – according to the latest UN Hunger Hotspots report.

Published jointly twice a year by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), the report confirms deepening crises in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Myanmar, Syria, Yemen and – in a new entry to the list – Nigeria, another country where critical emergency food assistance has faced unprecedented cuts. 

Conflict, economic turmoil, and extreme weather remain constant features of hunger crises – acute food insecurity is expected to worsen in a total of 13 hotspot locations by October. These include Burkina Faso, Chad, Somalia and Syria. 

Cindy McCain, WFP’s Executive Director, said: “This report is not a forecast, it is a red alert. We know where hunger is rising ... who is at risk, and we have the tools and experience to respond, but without funding and access, we cannot save lives.”

Michael Dunford, WFP’s Country Director for Myanmar, said: “The report highlights three things that need to happen: we need an end to the conflict, we need humanitarian access so we can meet the needs of the population wherever those people are, and we need to increase humanitarian funding drastically.”

While not in the worst-hit five, Myanmar's problems are emblematic of hunger crises across the board - the recent earthquake looks set to worsen acute food insecurity in the country, amid escalating conflict, widespread displacement, severe access restrictions and high food prices; 2.3 million people are projected to be in IPC Phase 4 (emergency) by August. 

On a recent visit to Rakhine State, “I met with internally displaced people – many whom WFP has supported for years,” he said. “They spoke to me, often in tears, about the hardship they are facing at the moment because we have had to reduce the support that we are providing. They described the hardship of trying to put food on the plates of their children when they have nothing.”

Dunford appealed for funding as he warned of “a significant rise in the number of people who are going acutely hungry ... because of the ongoing conflict, because of the recent earthquake and because of the reduction in humanitarian funding.” He added: “Without that funding, WFP and others simply cannot do what is required, which is feed the people.

“We are calling on the international community, on governments, donors and individuals to respond,” he said.

High risk of famine: 5 countries in crisis

Palestine

The risk of famine is increasingly likely due to protracted, large-scale military operations and inadequate plans to deliver food and non-food items across the Gaza Strip; 470,000 people face catastrophic hunger at IPC Phase 5. Gaza's entire population of 2.1 million people is projected to face Crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3 or higher) levels of acute food insecurity.

In a press release on Tuesday (10 June), WFP stated: “Almost three weeks after limited supplies were allowed to enter Gaza, WFP has transported over 700 trucks of aid to the Kerem Shalom border crossing point. This compares to 600–700 trucks of aid transported per day during the ceasefire earlier this year.

“The trucks carried over 11,000 metric tons of food, but only 6,000 metric tons have entered Gaza – enough to support less than 300,000 people for a month with minimal daily food requirements. This is a small fraction of what is needed for a population of 2.1 million and far too slow to meet the overwhelming needs.”

The statement added: “To stave off starvation, stabilize markets and calm desperation, we need to consistently support the entire population with basic food requirements every month.”

Sudan

More than 50 percent of the population – 24.6 million people – is projected to face Crisis (IPC Phase 3 or worse) levels of acute food insecurity, including 8 million in Emergency (IPC  Phase 4) and 637,000 in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5). Severe acute malnutrition is expected to affect 772,200 children under 5 this year.

Laurent Bukera, WFP’s Country Director for Sudan, said: “We are now reaching 4 million people across the country. This is nearly four times more than at the start of 2024. As access has expanded – including to previously unreachable areas like Khartoum – we’ve rapidly scaled up operations to meet increasing needs. We are aiming to reach 7 million people monthly, prioritizing those facing famine or other extreme risks across Darfur, Kordofan, Al Jazira and Khartoum states. With sustained support, we can do even more.” However, he added: “Progress remains fragile.”

South Sudan

As of June 2025, approximately 7.7 million people – 57 percent of the population – are facing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above), driven by macroeconomic instability, conflict and flooding. The nutrition situation is equally alarming: an estimated 2.1 million children and 1.1 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are acutely malnourished – a 26 percent increase compared to the same time last year.

Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP’s Country Director for South Sudan, said: “WFP is here on the ground, hoping to reach 4 million people this year with some form of food assistance.”

McGroarty neatly summed up WFP’s priorities across emergency contexts: “[We supply] school meals for children, to keep them in school, because they are the future of the country;livelihoods support so people can build back better and be able to feed themselves; and emergency food  and nutrition assistance for all those communities and households that are displaced because of conflict and extreme weather.”

Mali

Acute food insecurity in Mali is expected to worsen during the outlook period, driven by the combined impacts of conflict, persistently high food prices and the heightened risk of flooding during the lean season. Around 1.5 million people are projected to face Crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3 or worse) between now and September. Food systems remain severely disrupted by conflict amid constraints on humanitarian access in northern and central regions.

Haiti

Insecurity is driving mass displacement and fuelling catastrophic food insecurity among displaced people in the Port–au–Prince metropolitan area. Record levels of gang violence and insecurity are displacing communities and crippling aid access, with over 8,400 internally displaced persons (IDPs) already facing Catastrophic food insecurity (IPC Phase 5) in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. 

Domestic supply shocks, driven by persistent insecurity, climate disruptions and currency instability, are expected to drive high food prices throughout 2025.

Read the Hunger Hotspots report