The Global Report on Food Crises 2025 has warned acute hunger has grown for the sixth consecutive year, with 295 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity. This represents a tripling of the number of people facing acute hunger since 2016, and a doubling since 2020.
Across the world, catastrophic hunger driven by conflict and other factors is hitting record highs, pushing households to the edge of starvation. Displacement has also surged as violence has forced families from their homes. Meanwhile climate disasters are intensifying – wreaking havoc on global food security, crippling harvests, and breaking supply chains.
CARE’s Chief Humanitarian Officer Deepmala Mahla says:
“Conflict is the number one driver of acute food insecurity. The world has sat back and watched while manmade starvation and even famine have tightened its grip on millions. And the ones paying the highest price? Women and girls.
“Women and girls face impossible choices during food crises. Already before conflicts begin, they’re more likely to experience hunger at higher rates than men. And as fighting escalates, they are often forced to risk their safety to secure enough food to survive.
“Last year, nearly 38 million children and 11 million pregnant and breastfeeding women suffered acute malnutrition. Malnourished children are up to 11 times more likely to die than a well-nourished child. These are not just statistics. They are lives hanging in the balance.
“Over the past several months, I’ve spoken to women and girls living through some of the world’s most acute humanitarian crises – in Sudan, Gaza and DRC. The sentiment I heard over and over was that they feel abandoned, forgotten by the world.
“For so many of those I met, whose lives have been upended by war – almost all displaced multiple times – eating one meal a day is a luxury, a rare luxury. One woman I just met in eastern DRC, was forced to sell her daughter’s only piece of clothing to feed her. It’s not just about food. It’s about dignity. It’s about the world seeing them, hearing them, and acting with urgency. Because every delay, every funding cut, every missed opportunity to end conflict is another family slipping further into despair.
“The world must understand how urgent the situation is on the ground in these places. Seeing it was glaring, shocking. Every delay in humanitarian assistance, every cut in funding, every stalled peace effort, has life and death implications. There is no more time.
“Global leaders must do far more to prevent and peaceably end conflicts and protect civilians from harm due to hostilities. Civilians must never be denied food or humanitarian aid. International humanitarian law is clear. World leaders have the necessary tools at their disposal to ensure accountability and to prevent and resolve conflicts. The mechanisms to protect civilians from starvation are also in place. Now, we must see action.”
Media enquiries
For all media enquiries, please contact Zaina Alibhai on alibhai@careinternational.org
