The United Nations’ food agencies warned that acute hunger is set to worsen across 13 global hot spots in the coming months, with conflict, funding shortages and climate shocks pushing millions closer to famine.

Global Hot Spots

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) said in a new joint report that conditions are expected to deteriorate between June and November 2026, with around 266 million people already facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

The agencies said conflict and violence are the main drivers of hunger in nearly all the hotspots, compounded by economic shocks, deep cuts to humanitarian funding and the expected impact of an El Niño weather pattern, which could bring droughts and floods to vulnerable regions.

The United States pledged $800 million to WFP, which the agency said will help more than 38 million people in at least 37 countries at “a moment of unprecedented global need driving hunger to record levels.”

WFP’s Acting Executive Director Carl Skau called the new U.S. donation “a lifeline to reach people on the brink of famine, provide nutritional support to mothers and children and position food to prevent millions from slipping further into extreme hunger.”

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.