Dual famine declarations in Gaza and Sudan highlight conflict-driven hunger surge

Hunger spikes when fighting disrupts farms, markets, and aid routes. The Global Report on Food Crises 2026, which synthesizes household surveys from 47 countries covering over 265 million people, found that conflict and violence were the primary driver of acute food insecurity in 19 nations.

- Famine (IPC Phase 5) was confirmed in areas of the Gaza Strip and Sudan in 2025, marking the first time two regions received the classification at the same time since formal reporting started. - Conflict and violence drove acute food insecurity for 147.4 million people across 19 countries in 2025, representing more than half of the global acute hunger total. - The number of people experiencing catastrophic (IPC Phase 5) food insecurity rose to 1.4 million in 2025, more than nine times the 2016 figure.

The GRFC’s multi‑country cohort analysis shows a causal link: where fighting intensifies, food access collapses, leading to rapid rises in malnutrition and death rates. Weather extremes and economic shocks played secondary roles, affecting 87.5 million and 29.8 million people respectively, but did not trigger famine classifications. Practical takeaways for readers include supporting humanitarian corridors that bypass front lines and funding early‑warning systems that monitor IPC indicators in real time.