GENEVA, May 17: Acute food insecurity and child malnutrition increased for the sixth consecutive year in 2024, impacting more than 295 million individuals across 53 countries and territories, according to a United Nations report released on Friday.

This represents a 5% rise compared to 2023, with 22.6% of populations in the hardest-hit areas facing crisis-level hunger or worse.

"The 2025 Global Report on Food Crises paints a staggering picture," said Rein Paulsen, Director of Emergencies and Resilience at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He cited conflict, extreme weather, and economic shocks as the primary drivers of the crisis, noting that these factors frequently intersect.

The UN warned of further deterioration in 2025, pointing to the most significant projected decline in humanitarian food aid funding since the report began. Funding is expected to fall by between 10% and over 45%.

One major factor has been the rollback of humanitarian assistance by the United States under President Donald Trump, who has effectively shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development’s operations, cancelling over 80% of its relief programs.

"Millions of hungry people have lost, or will soon lose, the critical lifeline we provide," said Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, headquartered in Rome.

Conflict remained the leading cause of hunger in 2024, affecting nearly 140 million people in 20 countries. Catastrophic food insecurity was reported in regions such as Gaza, South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali, while Sudan officially confirmed famine conditions.

Economic instability, including inflation and currency collapses, pushed 59.4 million people into food crises in 15 countries—almost double the pre-COVID-19 numbers. Countries like Syria and Yemen were especially impacted.

Extreme weather events, particularly those driven by El Niño, triggered droughts and floods in 18 countries, leaving over 96 million people in crisis. The most affected regions were Southern Africa, Southern Asia, and the Horn of Africa.

The number of people experiencing famine-like conditions more than doubled to 1.9 million in 2024 — the highest level since global reporting began in 2016.

Child malnutrition also reached alarming heights. Nearly 38 million children under the age of five were acutely malnourished across 26 crisis-affected regions, including Sudan, Yemen, Mali, and Gaza.

Forced displacement further intensified the hunger crisis. Nearly 95 million people who were either refugees or internally displaced were living in countries grappling with food crises, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Colombia.

Despite these alarming trends, some progress was noted in 2024. Fifteen countries—including Ukraine, Kenya, and Guatemala—experienced improvements in food security thanks to humanitarian assistance, better harvests, reduced inflation, and diminished conflict.

To address the root causes of hunger, the report urged greater investment in local food systems. “Evidence shows that supporting local agriculture can help the most people, with dignity, at lower cost,” Paulsen emphasized.