Report sounds alarm on hunger, as global food crisis tightens

A new report warns that a record-high number of people in six nations are either starving or on the verge of disaster.

In Afghanistan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen, an unprecedented 970,000 people – ten times more than five years ago – are suffering from catastrophic levels of hunger.

These are the nations that should cause the most concern, along with Nigeria, where violence has increased and access to food for the hungry has been hampered.

In the report, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) called for urgent humanitarian action in a total of 19 hunger hotspots.

It outlines country-specific recommendations for taking action, including immediate emergency response to deal with the current crisis and short-term preventative measures before new humanitarian needs manifest.