UN Says It Lacks Billions of Dollars to Feed World's Hungry

"Declines in global humanitarian funding are forcing WFP to prioritise food assistance to roughly one third of those in need," targeting 110 million of the most vulnerable, it said in a statement.

That would cost $13 billion, the agency estimated -- but warned that "current funding forecasts indicate WFP may only receive close to half that goal".

The WFP's largest donor is the United States which, under President Donald Trump, has cut foreign aid, including to U.N. agencies. Other big donors, including some European nations, have also shrunk their humanitarian budgets.

The 318 million people facing acute hunger is more than double the figure recorded in 2019, as conflict, extreme weather and economic instability have taken their toll, the WFP said.

U.N. agencies this year declared famine in Gaza and parts of Sudan, something that WFP executive director Cindy McCain called "completely unacceptable in the 21st century".

In a foreword to the WFP's 2026 Global Outlook report, she said the world's response "remains slow, fragmented and underfunded".