UN Warns Global Hunger Could Worsen as Middle East War Continues
UN Warns Global Hunger Could Worsen as Middle East War Continues
————————-
The United Nations has warned that the ongoing war in the Middle East could push additional populations worldwide into severe hunger, amid accelerating economic and humanitarian fallout.
Karl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme, stated at a press conference in Geneva that if the conflict continues until the end of June, approximately 45 million more people could fall into acute hunger, bringing total numbers to “catastrophic and unprecedented” levels.
Currently, around 319 million people are experiencing severe food insecurity. Skau cautioned that rising prices and disruptions in supply chains could worsen the crisis, particularly in Sub-Saharan African and Asian countries that heavily rely on imported food and fuel.
He also noted that the program is facing a severe funding shortfall, forcing it to reprioritize and scale back some operations, warning that continued underfunding could lead to famine crises in the world’s most vulnerable nations.
Skau added that global supply chains could be on the brink of major disruption, among the worst since the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 war in Ukraine.
The warning comes amid escalating military tensions in the Middle East, including confrontations between Iran and Israel, and expanded operations in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, which have affected energy markets and global transportation networks.
On the humanitarian front, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that around 3.2 million people have been displaced within Iran since the outbreak of hostilities, while displacement in Lebanon has exceeded one million, increasing pressure on regional humanitarian resources.
The UN cautioned that continued conflicts without political solutions could trigger wider humanitarian repercussions, extending beyond the region and affecting global food security.
