Africa: As Wars Spread, the Global Food System Unravels

What the report says

A UN News report distributed by AllAfrica says conflict is worsening hunger across several regions, with Somalia cited as a stark example. A family with four children fled its farm after armed groups demanded payment to keep cultivating the land, then trekked about 100 kilometers to a displacement camp; one child died en route. The account was raised by Carl Skau, the acting head of the World Food Programme, during a United Nations Security Council debate on conflict and hunger this week.

According to the report, UN officials warned that wars are not only displacing people but also damaging the food system itself, including farms, markets, ports, storage sites and shipping routes. The article points to disruptions in Somalia, Sudan, Haiti, Gaza, Mali and Myanmar, and says conflict is now the main driver of hunger in most of the UN’s top food-crisis hotspots. It also highlights pressure on major trade routes such as the Black Sea, the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, where insecurity and restrictions have helped push up food, fuel and fertilizer costs.

The report says the World Food Programme is struggling to meet rising needs with limited resources. In Somalia, it says millions face acute hunger while aid access remains constrained by fighting. UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged governments to protect essential food infrastructure and respond before famine is formally declared, arguing that early action is needed to break what officials describe as a conflict-hunger cycle.