WFP/Abubakar Garelnabei

WFP calls for access to Khartoum State where hunger is soaring.

The United Nations (UN) has raised the alarm over an impending global famine, even as it said worsening conflicts and dwindling humanitarian funding were pushing millions towards acute hunger.

In a joint report, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) listed Nigeria among 16 hunger hotspots, alongside countries such as Haiti, Mali, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen, which face an "imminent risk of catastrophic hunger".

WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said that failure to act swiftly would fuel instability, migration, and conflict. The agencies reported that only $10.5 billion of the $29 billion needed had been secured, forcing the WFP to cut food aid and suspend school feeding programmes, while the FAO warned that the lack of funding threatened agricultural support essential for preventing future crises.