World Hunger Hits 363 Million as US-Israel War on Iran Fuels Global Food Crisis
The number of people facing acute hunger worldwide has surged to a record 363 million, with the US-Israel war on Iran pushing 45 million people into starvation as food aid funding collapses [158717].
A perfect storm of conflict, climate shocks, and political failure is driving millions to the brink. In Africa's Sahel region, violence, civilian displacement, and climate disasters have created a humanitarian catastrophe that the United Nations warns could push the region "to the brink of collapse" [170006]. The crisis, which began in 2012, has largely faded from headlines even as conditions worsen across national borders.
Meanwhile, farmers globally are buckling under rising costs for fuel, fertilizer, and animal feed—directly driven by the conflict in Iran [167083]. Extreme weather is compounding the damage: the UK just recorded its hottest May day ever, and Europe saw record-breaking temperatures in late May, with the UN warning that the El Niño weather pattern is likely to return [167083].
The head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) says the US-Israel war on Iran has pushed global hunger to historic levels. A WFP deputy director warned: "We are taking from the hungry to feed the starving" [158717]. Of the 363 million people facing acute hunger, 45 million are directly affected by the Middle East conflict and the resulting spike in oil prices [158717].
A group of leading economists, including a Nobel laureate, says the world must abandon its focus on economic growth. They argue that poverty and inequality are not accidents but the result of deliberate policy choices—and that if governments can create poverty through bad policies, they can dismantle it through better ones [169933]. The economists, from institutions including the United Nations, Oxford University, and the Paris School of Economics, point out that despite record global wealth, roughly one in ten people live in extreme poverty while millions lack food, housing, or healthcare [169933].
The German Peace Report warns that international law is failing as wars surge worldwide, with warlords and powerful states increasingly ignoring legal boundaries [169105]. The report points to Russia's war in Ukraine, joint Israeli and US strikes on Iran, and prolonged civil wars across Africa as flashpoints where the system of international rules is under its greatest threat in decades [169105].
Economist Thomas Piketty has stated that a global wealth tax is not just an option but an "inevitability," arguing that without taxing the richest individuals and corporations across borders, inequality will continue to rise [169896].