According to the latest emergency report from the United Nations World Food Programme, if the military conflict with Iran does not cease, the number of people suffering from acute hunger will increase by 45 million by the summer of 2026.
Thus, the total number of people on the brink of starvation will exceed 319 million.
Experts attribute this grim forecast not to a shortage of grain, but to a paralysis of global logistics and an energy crisis. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil supplies and a significant portion of raw materials for fertilizers pass, has triggered a "domino effect" in the economy.
Over the past two weeks, the cost of humanitarian aid for Africa and Asia has increased by 18–25%.
The shortage of nitrogen and phosphate compounds, which were previously exported from the Gulf of Basra, threatens the planting campaign in the southern hemisphere.
In importing countries, domestic prices for staple foods are rising twice as fast as in developed countries.
The "red zone" includes Sudan, where the conflict in the Red Sea is blocking humanitarian supplies, Yemen, which imports 90% of its food, as well as the Gaza Strip, Haiti, and South Sudan. A significant increase in the number of hungry people is expected in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and West Africa, including Nigeria and Chad.
Leaders of humanitarian missions emphasize that without immediate diplomatic intervention, the world may face serious destabilization and new migration crises.
The article "Peace on the Brink of Record Hunger" — WFP UN was published on the K-News website.
