Conflict-induced famine, hunger deaths likely in Gaza, Sudan in months: UN

‘Hunger hotspots’ include South Sudan, Mali and Haiti where millions are being pushed to the brink, new report says.

The Palestinian territory, Sudan and South Sudan, as well as Mali and Haiti, have been identified as the top five places most likely to see deadly hunger levels in the coming months, according to a new report by United Nations food agencies.

The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme said in a joint report on Thursday that “acute food insecurity is set to increase in both magnitude and severity” across 22 countries and territories.

The Rome-based UN agencies warned that the spread of conflict, particularly in the Middle East – coupled with climate and economic stressors – was pushing millions of people to the brink.

The report spotlighted the regional fallout from Israel’s war in Gaza, with Lebanon also engulfed in conflict, and warned that the La Nina weather pattern could affect the climate through March next year, threatening fragile food systems in already vulnerable regions.

“Without immediate humanitarian efforts and concerted international action to address severe access constraints and advocate for the de-escalation of conflict and insecurity, further starvation and loss of life are likely” in those spots, it found.