WFP Issues ‘Red Alert’ for 2026: 318 Million Face Crisis-Level Hunger

Rome, Italy—The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has released its 2026 Global Outlook, issuing a “starkest warning in years” that 318 million people worldwide are projected to face crisis levels of hunger or worse next year. Driven by prolonged regional conflicts, persistent climate extremes like the ongoing global megadrought, and global economic instability, the humanitarian need is far outpacing international aid resources. The WFP announced it will be forced to triage assistance, prioritizing only the 110 million most vulnerable people, a situation described by the Executive Director as a “failure of international will.” The report calls for an urgent, multi-billion-dollar reversal of donor fatigue to prevent widespread famine.700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822