Millions are being pushed into hunger by Iran war: UN food agency

The United Nations (UN) nutrient bureau said millions of radical are being pushed into acute hunger by the Iran war, arsenic it warned would hap if the struggle escalated and oil prices remained high.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said an investigation successful 3 susceptible countries recovered that an further 2.5 cardinal radical successful Somalia, 2.3 cardinal successful Afghanistan and 1.3 cardinal successful Sri Lanka are struggling to conscionable their basal nutrient needs. In March, WFP predicted that 45 cardinal radical could beryllium pushed into nutrient insecurity by the extremity of June. That would beryllium connected apical of the 318 cardinal radical astir the satellite who are already nutrient insecure.

“We stay by that prognosis,” WFP's acting Executive Director Carl Skau told UN reporters. “That's chiefly due to the fact that the correlation betwixt the prices of vigor and nutrient is truthful choky successful galore places, and besides that successful the poorest countries radical are already spending each their wealth connected food, and hence erstwhile nutrient prices rise, they devour less.”

WFP said successful its report, circulated connected Thursday (June 4, 2026), that its findings bespeak the West Asia situation is generating “significant spillovers," peculiarly connected the prices of nutrient and fuel, and disrupting trade. Especially successful already susceptible countries, the Rome-based UN bureau said, these factors interact and rapidly interaction nutrient information and livelihoods.

“These impacts are expected to intensify successful the coming months, adjacent if the situation successful the Middle East de-escalates,” WFP said. Mr. Skau cited different planetary hotspots with nutrient insecurity, including Sudan, Gaza, confederate Lebanon, Yemen and Haiti.

WFP had to bounds assistance to millions of needy radical due to the fact that of backing cuts, and Mr. Skau urged donors to measurement up, particularly for Somalia and Afghanistan “because the quality consequences of not doing much volition beryllium massive.”