World Food Program warns global hunger at 'breaking point' amid funding crisis

The World Food Program has issued an urgent warning that global food assistance operations have reached a critical breaking point amid unprecedented hunger levels and severe funding reductions. During a virtual briefing Wednesday, WFP emergency director Ross Smith declared the agency confronts unprecedented challenges with "fewer resources than ever before" while attempting to address record food insecurity affecting hundreds of millions worldwide.

Unprecedented global hunger crisis

The UN agency reports 319 million people currently experience acute food insecurity, with 44 million confronting emergency hunger conditions. Smith revealed the WFP currently addresses two concurrent famines for the first time in its history, with famine-like conditions affecting 1.4 million people across Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, Mali and Yemen – representing a 100% increase over the past two years.

Severe funding reductions and operational impacts

The agency anticipates a 40% reduction in assistance levels during 2025 due to the funding crisis, with further deterioration expected in 2026. This financial shortfall has forced significant operational scale-backs across multiple humanitarian emergencies, creating what WFP officials characterize as a dangerous "disconnect between very high needs for food response and lower availability of funding."

Country-specific crises and projections

In Afghanistan, the agency currently reaches fewer than 10% of the 10 million people facing acute food insecurity, with funding breaks anticipated as early as November. The Democratic Republic of Congo records unprecedented hunger affecting over 27 million citizens, yet only 2.3 million receive assistance. Somalia will see assistance reduced to just 350,000 people next month, representing less than one-quarter of last year's coverage targets.