A new report by Action Against Hunger reveals that Nigeria, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC/DR Congo) are among the ten most critical hunger hotspots globally. The report shows that two out of three people suffering from acute food insecurity worldwide live in just ten countries, with over 196 million facing crisis, emergency, or catastrophic levels of hunger.
The report, released Wednesday, integrates data from the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI 2025) and the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC 2025). It identifies ten critical hunger hotspots to watch in 2026: Nigeria, Sudan, the DRC, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Syria.
The analysis highlights three critical contexts where hunger affects between 50 and 100 percent of the population: Gaza Strip, South Sudan, and Haiti.
"What we're witnessing is an unprecedented convergence of crises," said Charles Owubah, CEO of Action Against Hunger.
"Armed conflict, climate disasters, economic collapse, and now devastating cuts to humanitarian funding are creating a perfect storm that threatens to push millions more people into famine. The international community must act now to prevent a catastrophe of historic proportions."
The report details that nearly 30 million children in the 13 analyzed countries and territories suffer from acute malnutrition. Of those children, approximately 8.5 million are severely malnourished and at an elevated risk of death without timely treatment. At least 13 million pregnant or breastfeeding women are malnourished as well, which will likely negatively impact their children.
The global funding crisis is severely hampering the humanitarian response across the world. Action Against Hunger's 2024 "Hunger Funding Gap" report revealed a 65 percent shortage in funding for hunger-related programs.
Since then, the United States has announced an 83 percent cut to humanitarian programs worldwide, while Germany, France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands have also made significant cuts.
"These funding cuts are not just numbers on a spreadsheet - they represent children who will die from preventable malnutrition, families who will be forced to skip meals, and communities pushed beyond their breaking point," said Michelle Brown, Action Against Hunger's Associate Director of Advocacy.
According to a study published in The Lancet, programs funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have saved over 90 million lives in the last 20 years. However, this changed radically in 2025 when the US government dismantled the world's largest government-run development and humanitarian aid agency.
The research estimates that maintaining these extreme cuts until 2030 could result in 14 million preventable deaths, including 4.5 million children under five.
"We need urgent action from donors to reverse these catastrophic decisions and uphold their commitment to saving lives," said for Action Against Hunger’s Brown.
The NGO report presents urgent recommendations to address the root causes of hunger and prevent future crises including ensuring full and safe humanitarian access, integrating climate adaptation into national budgets, and focusing on women and children.
Action Against Hunger also calls for immediate action to provide flexible, multi-sectoral funding for humanitarian responses; support local, community-led solutions; prevent hunger and undernutrition by ensuring access to critical services; and uphold adequate nutrition as a fundamental human right.
Action Against Hunger (Action Contre La Faim) is a global humanitarian NGO working to end hunger worldwide. Founded in 1979 by a group of French doctors, scientists, and writers, the organization's main objective is to take decisive action against the causes and impacts of hunger.
The humanitarian organization has set the specific goal of saving malnourished children from starvation, providing access to safe drinking water, and developing sustainable solutions to hunger. Currently active in 59 countries, the NGO has branches in Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States and reaches over 21 million people annually.
Further information
Full text: Global Hunger Hotspots Report 2026, Action Against Hunger, report, published January 21, 2026
https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/app/uploads/2026/01/2025_GlobalEmergencies_Map_v2-compressed.pdf