A United Nations report warned of a worsening global hunger crisis, as millions of people worldwide suffer from severe food insecurity.

The report, published today (Saturday), stated that "conflicts and climate change have led to a sharp increase in the number of hungry people, especially in areas like Sudan and the Gaza Strip."

Following the release of the report, three UN officials spoke via video to journalists in New York, providing a briefing on the semi-annual update of the Global Report on Food Crises for 2024, which covers the period until the end of August 2024.

The UN officials emphasized the urgent need to increase humanitarian funding and to address the root causes of food crises, such as conflicts and climate change, to prevent the situation from worsening and to avoid broader famines.

Maximo Torero, the chief economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), provided an overview of the main findings of the report, stating that the intensification of conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, as well as drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon and rising local food prices, is increasing the number of people facing high levels of severe food insecurity in 18 countries compared to 2023.

The report indicated that the number of people facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity has doubled from 705,000 individuals in 5 countries and regions in 2023 to 1.9 million in 4 countries or regions in 2024.

This is the highest number recorded in the Global Report on Food Crises, largely attributed to the conflict in the Gaza Strip and Sudan, according to Torero.

The report states that the integrated food security classification consists of five phases, with "crisis" or severe food insecurity being the third level of classification. The fourth level is emergency, while the fifth is catastrophe or famine.

The hunger in Gaza is the most severe in history.

Regarding the situation in Gaza, Torero stated that the food crisis remains the most acute in the history of the Global Report on Food Crises, with nearly 2.2 million residents still in urgent need of food and assistance.

The crisis has intensified, with half of the population experiencing famine between March and April, up from a quarter of the population from December 2023 to February 2024.

Forecasts suggest that this percentage will decrease to 22% of the population—approximately 495,000 people—between June and September 2024, and available evidence does not indicate famine, although the risk still remains, according to the report.