Conflict remains the leading driver of hunger, affecting nearly 150 million people facing acute food shortages, according to the latest Global Report on Food Crises released by the Food Security Information Network.
The report, published in April 2025, identifies armed violence as the primary cause of food insecurity in 19 countries, including Sudan, Gaza, Haiti and parts of the Sahel, where disrupted supply chains, destroyed farmland, and blocked humanitarian access have pushed populations into catastrophe levels of hunger.
In Sudan, over 25 million people — more than half the population — are now acutely food insecure, with famine conditions confirmed in parts of North Darfur and Khartoum, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released in March by UN agencies and NGOs.
The World Food Programme reports that humanitarian convoys to Darfur have been repeatedly halted due to shifting frontlines and bureaucratic obstructions, with less than 30% of planned aid reaching target areas in the first quarter of 2025.
In Gaza, the Israeli military campaign has destroyed over 70% of agricultural land and 80% of fishing infrastructure, according to satellite assessments by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, while the blockade has prevented the import of essential food supplies and cooking fuel.
Humanitarian organizations warn that without sustained access and political commitment to ceasefire agreements, the risk of famine will continue to rise in conflict zones where food systems have been systematically dismantled.
