WFP: 318 mln people now facing acute food insecurity

GENEVA, Nov 18 (KUNA) -- The World Food Programme warned on Tuesday that global hunger levels have reached an unprecedented peak with 318 million people worldwide now living in acute food insecurity twice the number recorded before the (COVID 19) pandemic in 2019.
Speaking online from Rome during a press briefing in Geneva the Director of WFP's Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Service Jean-Martin Bauer said the world is confronting a situation not seen in this century "two simultaneous famines one in Gaza and another in parts of Sudan at a time" when international humanitarian funding is faltering.
Bauer cautioned that the number of people sliding into IPC Phase 5 Famine is rising particularly in Sudan, Palestine, South Sudan, Yemen, Mali, and Haiti.
He also voiced concern over deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, and Syria.
According to WFP's 2026 Global Outlook around 14 million people are projected to fall from IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) to IPC Phase four (Emergency) a nearly 30 pct increase compared to the current 40 million already in Phase four.
Bauer noted that severe funding reductions are "crippling WFP operations across the board." In most countries food rations have been slashed the number of beneficiaries cut or cash assistance reduced.
WFP is calling for 13 billion dollars in 2026 to provide life-saving and life-changing assistance to 110 million people. Bauer said "Even with that sum the agency can currently reach only one-third of those in need due to the funding shortfall." He emphasized that food assistance is not merely emergency relief but a source of stability dignity and hope and stressed the urgency of renewed commitment to tackling hunger worldwide. (end) imk.aai