Hunger and Food Insecurity

Global hunger levels remain alarmingly high. More than 20 million people are currently on the brink of famine or already experiencing famine conditions. While the world produces more than enough food to feed the global population, one in thirteen people around the globe still goes hungry. An estimated 645 million people experienced hunger in 2025, or about 7.8 percent of the global population. This figure has decreased from 8.1 percent in 2024, 8.5 percent in 2023, and 8.6 percent in 2022, according to the “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report 2026”.

Despite this modest global progress, the situation varies widely across continents and regions. Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean have recorded steady improvements in recent years. In contrast, Africa is now home to around 309 million hungry people, compared to 292 million in Asia. Amid a rapidly growing population, Africa now has the highest number of hungry people in absolute terms.

In 2025, some 266 million people in 47 countries and territories experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2025, representing nearly 23 percent of the analyzed population, after more than 295 million people worldwide were acutely food insecure in 53 countries and territories around the world in 2024.

However, last year's apparent decline in the number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity compared to 2024 is primarily due to declining data availability rather than actual improvement. This information comes from the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC 2026), published by the Global Network Against Food Crises. The Global Network is an international alliance that works to address the root causes of extreme hunger.

According to the GRFC 2026, acute food insecurity and malnutrition levels remain alarmingly high and deeply entrenched across the world, with crises increasingly concentrated in a core group of countries. The report shows that acute hunger has doubled over the past decade, with two famines being declared last year — the first time this has happened in the report's ten-year history, while armed conflict remains the main driver of acute hunger.

At the same time, acute malnutrition remains a critical and growing concern. In 2025 alone, 35.5 million children were acutely malnourished, nearly 10 million of whom suffered from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). SAM, also known as severe wasting, is the deadliest form of malnutrition. Children with SAM require immediate, intensive treatment because they are extremely vulnerable to life-threatening complications and have a high mortality rate if they receive inadequate care.

Meanwhile, the concentration of acute hunger remains high. Ten countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen — accounted for two-thirds of all people facing high levels of acute food insecurity in 2025.

In terms of both the proportion and absolute number of people facing high levels of acute hunger, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen experienced the worst food crises last year. At the most extreme end of the scale, human-made famine was identified in parts of Gaza and Sudan in 2025. This signals a sharp escalation in the most extreme forms of hunger and malnutrition, primarily driven by armed conflict, restricted humanitarian access, and forced displacement.

Many of the world's worst hunger crises belong to the forgotten crises or are underfunded emergencies. You can donate for people threatened by famines, hunger and malnutrition. DONARE has selected seven organizations focusing on hunger relief: the World Food Programme, Action Against Hunger, Concern Worldwide, CARITAS Internationalis, ACTED, COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale, and Solidarités International.

The World Food Programme (WFP)

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization. The UN agency, awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, is saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to support people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. The World Food Programme works in over 120 countries and territories. For millions of people worldwide, WFP assistance can make the difference between life and death.

https://www.wfp.org/

Donate to the WFP now
https://donatenow.wfp.org/

Donate to a fundraising partner
World Food Program USA

Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger is a global humanitarian nongovernmental organization (NGO) that is committed to ending world hunger. Its main goal is to take decisive action against the causes and effects of hunger. Founded in 1979 by a group of French doctors, scientists, and writers as “Action Contre La Faim”, the organization aims to save malnourished children from starvation, establish access to safe drinking water and create sustainable solutions to hunger. The NGO currently works across 50 countries.

https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/

Donate now to Action Against Hunger USA
https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/take-action/donate

Please note: You might be redirected to one of Action Against Hunger’s country websites. You can directly donate to one of the country organizations.

Country organizations

Concern Worldwide

Concern Worldwide is an international humanitarian organization that focuses on the world's most vulnerable people. In addition to providing emergency aid in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, the non-governmental organization is also involved in long-term development cooperation. In 1968, Concern Worldwide - formerly known as Africa Concern - was founded in Dublin by a small group of people in response to famine and conflict in Biafra. The organization's international headquarters are located in Dublin, Ireland. Concern Worldwide currently operates in 25 countries.

https://www.concern.net/

Donate now to Concern Worldwide
https://www.concern.net/donate

Please note: You can directly donate to one of the partner organizations.

Partner organizations

CARITAS Internationalis

Caritas Internationalis (Caritas International) is a worldwide emergency and disaster relief organization. Caritas Internationalisis, a confederation of over 160 members, is the umbrella organization of the national Caritas associations, the welfare organizations of the Catholic Church. These charitable organizations are active worldwide in emergency aid, development aid and social services. Caritas Internationalis has its headquarters in Rome. Caritas was first founded in Germany in 1897; Caritas Internationalis was set up in 1951. The organization is operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.

https://www.caritas.org/

Donate now to Caritas Internationalis
https://www.caritas.org/donate-now/

Please be aware: Caritas Internationalis is a faith-based Christian organization, that might pursue other additional goals. If you prefer to donate to an ideologically independent organization, choose another humanitarian actor to donate to.

Country / Member organizations:

ACTED

ACTED (Agence d'Aide à la coopération technique et au développement, Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development) is a French humanitarian non-governmental organization (NGO). ACTED works at present in 42 countries and responds to emergencies and crisis situations. The NGO’s mission is to save lives and support people in meeting their needs in hard-to-reach areas, targeting the most vulnerable among populations that have suffered from conflict, natural disaster, or socio-economic hardship. The humanitarian organization was founded in 1993; its headquarters are based in Paris, France.

https://www.acted.org/en/

Donate now to ACTED
https://acted.iraiser.eu/don/~my-donation

COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale

COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) is an Italian humanitarian organization, founded in 1965 by Father Vincenzo Barbieri. The non-governmental organization (NGO) carries out both emergency humanitarian projects and multi-year development programs in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. COOPI is currently present in 33 countries and works directly in major humanitarian emergencies. The NGO's main areas of intervention include food security, nutrition security, as well as water and sanitation. COOPI’s headquarters are based in Milan, Italy.

https://coopi.org/en

Donate now to COOPI
https://coopi.org/it/dona-ora.html

Solidarités International (SI)

Solidarités International (SI) is a French humanitarian organization assisting populations affected by conflicts and violence, epidemics, natural or climate-related disasters and economic collapses. The non-governmental organization's primary goal is to help people in life-threatening situations rapidly and effectively by providing for their vital needs such as food, water, and shelter. Founded in 1980, Solidarites International is currently active in 21 countries. The NGO’s headquarters are based in Clichy, France.

https://www.solidarites.org/en/

Donate now to Solidarités International
https://dons.solidarites.org/1gen/~my-donation

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