Location: Niger
In regions around the world, the climate crisis is causing more frequent and intense extreme weather events. From droughts to hurricanes to floods, these climate extremes are driving more people into severe hunger and poverty.
These are the 10 worst hunger crises in the world today based on where the U.N. World Food Programme works and has collected recent data. The crises are ranked by the total number of people facing severe hunger in each country.
The war in Ukraine is violently disrupting the global trade of food, fertilizers and oil products, with the already high prices of agricultural products reaching record highs not seen in West Africa since 2011.
The number of people on the brink of starvation across the Sahel has increased almost tenfold over the past three years and displacement by almost 400%.
WFP staff in Yemen, the Central Sahel and Sudan share their thoughts on what peace would mean for families caught in the crossfires of hunger and conflict.
Hunger is terrible, but especially cruel to children. And it's a daily reality for millions of them – a scale that’s difficult for most of us to imagine.
Conflict is a vicious force, and one that's pushed innocent civilians to the most extreme levels of hunger imaginable. Nearly all of them live in the same places.
The Central Sahel is in crisis, yet "nobody is truly interested and everyone just stands by watching tragedy develop in front of our eyes,” says WFP's Margot van der Velden.
More than 800 U.N. Volunteers have served with WFP in the past decade, helping us save lives in over 70 countries.
Violence and insecurity have pushed 7.4 million people in the Central Sahel region of West Africa into acute hunger. WFP has requested urgent access.
A whirlwind of conflict, displacement and pandemic means that more than 15 million kids could going hungry in West and Central Africa. We must respond immediately.
“Our message to the world is clear: Look away now and the consequences will be no less than catastrophic,” says Chris Nikoi, WFP’s Regional Director for West Africa.