Hunger is nearing levels that were last seen during the global food crisis sparked by the pandemic.

ROME —The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched its 2025 Global Outlook, calling for US$16.9 billion to address global food needs and the alarming gap between needs and resources.

WFP's flagship 2025 Global Outlook, launched today, shows that 343 million people across 74 countries are acutely food insecure, a 10 per cent increase from last year and just shy of the record hit during the pandemic. The country contexts in which WFP operates are becoming more complex, making reaching people in need more difficult and costly.

A stream of global crises driven by escalating and overlapping conflicts, climate extremes and economic shocks has brought hunger to record levels, generating an unrelenting demand for humanitarian assistance. Yet, funding shortfalls in 2024 forced WFP to scale back activities, often leaving some of the most vulnerable behind.

According to the report, an estimated 1.9 million people are on the brink of famine. The number of people facing catastrophic hunger, specifically in Gaza and Sudan, as well as parts of South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali, has reached alarming levels.

'Global humanitarian needs are rising, fuelled by devastating conflicts, more frequent climate disasters, and extensive economic turmoil. Yet funding is failing to keep pace,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. “At WFP, we are dedicated to achieving a world without hunger. But to get there, we urgently need financial and diplomatic support from the international community: to reverse the rising tide of global needs, and help vulnerable communities build long-term resilience against food insecurity.”

The US$16.9 billion WFP needs to assist 123 million of the hungriest people in 2025 is roughly what the world spends on coffee in just two weeks.

In 2025, WFP will continue prioritising, adapting its responses to each country's specific needs and aligning its capabilities and resources to deliver high-quality programmes.

Regional outlook and priorities

• In Asia and the Pacific, where 88 million people struggle under the devastating effects of acute hunger, WFP will require US$2.5 billion to respond to crises and enhance further shock-responsive social protection and anticipatory action initiatives.
• With over 170 million acutely insecure people, Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 50 percent of WFP’s projected funding needs in 2025. The conflict in Sudan—where famine was confirmed in one location in August—is driving massive displacement with a spillover into neighbouring countries. Conflict is also pushing millions into hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Sahel, while extreme climate events exacerbated by the El Niño phenomenon are deepening food insecurity across the Southern Africa region. WFP needs US$8.4 billion to support its operations in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The outbreak of hostilities in Lebanon has worsened the already dire situation in the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe region, where conflict is also causing food insecurity in Gaza, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. The situation in Gaza remains dire: 91 per cent of the population is acutely food-insecure, of whom 16 per cent are in catastrophic conditions. 17.1 million people in Yemen and 12.9 million in Syria are also cutely food-insecure. Across the region, funding shortages are hitting hard on WFP’s operations, and millions feel the sting of reduced food assistance. WFP requires US$ 4.9 billion for its operations.
• 40.8 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean are experiencing food insecurity, with 14.2 million being prioritized for WFP assistance. WFP will need US$1.1 billion to support vulnerable populations and scale up interventions to strengthen food systems, climate resilience and social protection.