Hunger is rising in conflict zones, with delivery routes blocked and funding shortfalls. This page answers the key questions readers have about where the risk is highest, what WFP is doing to scale up aid, how funding and security affect operations, and what to expect in the coming weeks.
Right now, regions facing acute hunger include parts of South Sudan, Sudan and the broader Middle East, where conflict disrupts markets and supply chains, displaces people, and damages local food systems. IPC updates show rising malnutrition and IPC Phase 5 cases in several hotspots, signaling extreme hunger. Ongoing fighting, access restrictions, and seasonal weather patterns compound these risks.
WFP is increasing emergency food and nutrition support through expanded air deliveries, more truck convoys, and rapid-scale operations to reach displaced and vulnerable populations. They’re prioritizing high-need areas like Akobo East in South Sudan, while coordinating with partners to ensure more predictable food distributions, monitoring malnutrition, and adjusting logistics to counter seasonal access challenges.
Funding gaps slow or pause programs, restrict the ability to plan long-term relief, and force difficult choices about who receives aid first. Security constraints, such as active conflict or restricted corridors, can halt convoys or delay air support. Together, they jeopardize continuity of care for malnourished children and vulnerable families and require ongoing advocacy for predictable funding and secure access.
Expect continued expansion of emergency food and nutrition distributions, with more air support and ground convoys to hard-to-reach areas. WFP and partners aim to respond rapidly to shifting access conditions, increase monitoring of malnutrition rates, and push for safer corridors to sustain life-saving aid as the rainy season and security issues remain in play.
Hunger rises because conflict disrupts farming, trade, and markets; displacement reduces household food access; supply chains are damaged; and funding constraints limit how much aid can be delivered. Seasonal factors, like rain and road closures, further hinder timely relief, making rapid, scalable operations essential.
Reliability depends on secure access and steady funding. When routes are blocked or prices spike, WFP shifts to air or alternative transport, but these measures are resource-intensive. Continuity hinges on political access, humanitarian corridors, and sustained donor support to fund ongoing transports and operations.
Conflict and cuts in funding have left World Food Programme ‘taking from the hungry to feed the starving’