UN Names Nigeria, 15 Other Countries As ‘Food Insecurity Hotspots’

The United Nations has warned that acute food insecurity is worsening in Nigeria and 15 other global hunger hotspots, putting millions at risk of famine between November 2025 and May 2026. The joint report ‘Hunger Hotspots: FAO/WFP Early Warnings on Acute Food Insecurity’ was produced by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Food Programme.

While the UN identified Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, and Syria as “very high concern” zones, it stated that Haiti, Mali, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen are facing an imminent risk of catastrophic hunger, classified under the highest phase. According to the report, conflict, economic shocks, and extreme weather events remain the primary drivers of hunger, while dwindling humanitarian funding threatens to push several countries towards catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

Four additional areas, namely Burkina Faso, Chad, Kenya, and the Rohingya refugee situation in Bangladesh, were also flagged as high-risk regions requiring urgent attention. The report highlighted that only $10.5 billion of the $29 billion needed for emergency food assistance had been received as of October 2025, necessitating severe ration cuts and the suspension of key nutrition and school feeding programmes.

The FAO cautioned that without immediate funding, crucial agricultural support, including seeds, livestock care, and early farming interventions, will not reach communities before the next planting season.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu called for global action to shift from crisis response to prevention.

“We must move from reacting to crises to preventing them. Investing in livelihoods, resilience, and social protection before hunger peaks will save lives and resources. Famine prevention is not just a moral duty; it is a smart investment in long-term peace and stability,” he stated.

WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain warned that millions face starvation if the world fails to act.

“Mothers are skipping meals so their children can eat. Families are exhausting what little they have left as they struggle to survive. We urgently need new funding and unimpeded access. A failure to act now will drive further instability, migration, and conflict,” she said.

Both agencies called for renewed global attention, sustained investments in resilience, and unrestricted humanitarian access to conflict-affected areas. They emphasised that famine is predictable and preventable, but only with strong political will, adequate funding, and collective action. The biannual Hunger Hotspots report is developed under the Global Network Against Food Crises, with financial support from the European Union, to guide early warning and coordinated responses to food emergencies.