World’s Poorest Pushed Further Into Hunger As Middle East Crisis Ripple Effects Continue

Three months after warning that the escalating Middle East crisis could push millions more people into hunger, a new analysis from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) shows that the fallout from the conflict is already having deep and long-lasting effects in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.

The new WFP report focused on three countries with differing exposure to the supply chain bottleneck, found that an additional 2.5 million people in Somalia, 1.3 million in Sri Lanka and 2.3 million in Afghanistan are struggling to meet basic food needs and, in some cases, being pushed into acute hunger.

“We warned that this crisis could push millions more people into hunger; now we are watching it happen in real time.” said Jean-Martin Bauer, Director of WFP’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Service.

Expected to worsen These impacts are expected to intensify in the coming months, even if the crisis in the Middle East de-escalates.

In many parts of the world, farmers are going through planting seasons with severe fertilizer shortages and high fuel prices. This is expected to have a devastating impact on crop yields and, consequently, on food prices months down the line.

The report also shows how the conflict in the Middle East forcing the WFP into a triple squeeze with rising needs, increased delivery costs and shrinking funding all culminating in devastating consequences.

WFP estimates it will now serve 1.5 million fewer people than originally planned in 2026.

However, if the conflict continues in the coming months, the WFP warned that more than 9 million people could lose assistance.