The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran risks pushing global hunger to unprecedented levels. The agency says extreme weather, ongoing conflicts and localized famines have already left about 320 million people acutely food insecure.
WFP officials told reporters that the war, now in its third week, is reverberating through food and fuel markets and could put staple foods out of reach for many families far beyond the region. Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau said if fighting continues through June and oil remains above USD 100 per barrel, price shocks could thrust an additional 45 million people into acute hunger.
Skau emphasized that the poorest households have no margin to absorb rising living costs. The recent escalation began on February 28 with a U.S. and Israeli military operation against Iran, followed by Iranian strikes on targets in Israel and Gulf states and the involvement of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In Lebanon the WFP is providing hot meals and bread to tens of thousands but urgently needs USD 77 million to sustain operations for the next three months. Skau said the agency was facing a perfect storm even before the latest fighting: global hunger is at one of its worst points in recent memory and acute food insecurity has tripled over the last five years.
Donor shortfalls left the WFP with a roughly 40 percent reduction in resources last year, stretching its capacity. The Middle East conflict is increasing the cost of relief: fuel prices have climbed, supply chains have lengthened, shipping costs are up about 18 percent, and transport fuel is considerably more expensive.
The fighting also threatens agricultural inputs and planting seasons far from the front lines. Disruptions to fertilizer exports through the Strait of Hormuz pose major risks for planting in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, including Somalia and Kenya. In Somalia, two consecutive droughts have produced clear signs of impending famine, and the WFP currently lacks funding to assist roughly 700,000 people.
Funding gaps have already forced life-saving reductions elsewhere. Food rations have been cut for people in famine-affected areas of Sudan, and in Afghanistan the WFP can currently reach only one in four acutely malnourished children. Skau warned that people are dying in Afghanistan because assistance is insufficient and urged governments to provide more humanitarian funding to avert a global catastrophe.
