Hunger

The number of people facing crisis levels of hunger in Zambia is projected to jump 72%, as anticipated El Niño drought and the conflict in the Middle East threaten to push more families into hunger.

Nine years after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled attacks and violence in Myanmar, an entire generation of Rohingya children has grown up in displacement, and many children know nothing but life inside the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps in southeast Bangladesh.

In a mountainous, hard to reach part of northern Afghanistan, Save the Children is the only healthcare provider for 10,000 people. The clinic sees over 100 patients every day, some of whom travel for two to three hours on foot to see doctors, nutrition nurses and midwives.

As World Breastfeeding Week begins, Save the Children and its partners in Gaza are diagnosing high rates of malnutrition in pregnant and breastfeeding women, with rates particularly bad in northern Gaza. Some mothers are resorting to feeding their children water mixed with ground chickpeas or tahini, while others are stopping breastfeeding earlier than they would prefer, due to difficulties and lack of support.

The number of children receiving treatment for the most dangerous form of malnutrition in Baidoa, south central Somalia, nearly tripled in six months, according to new figures from Save the Children’s stabilization centre in the region, warning over the country’s worsening drought and hunger crisis.

More than 74,000 children under five in Gaza will suffer acute malnutrition in the year to April 2027, according to new data, highlighting that the crisis remains catastrophic with children paying the highest price.

Children in Yemen are being plunged deeper into hunger as world leaders fail to fully re-open the Strait of Hormuz, said Save the Children, releasing a new market assessment showing how fuel and food prices have skyrocketed since the escalation in the Middle East region four months ago. 

Hunger in Madagascar is set to escalate dramatically later this year, with the number of people facing crisis levels projected to jump by 75% and about one in 10 children under five suffering or expected to suffer from acute malnutrition.

In this staff account, Shurouq shares the reality of Gaza’s worsening food crisis after 1,000 days of war. Families face soaring food prices, aid restrictions, destroyed farmland, extreme heat, and pests, making it increasingly difficult to access nutritious food and meet basic needs while struggling to survive daily.

Families and children in South Sudan’s eastern Jonglei state are surviving on leaves and water lilies as hunger surges towards famine levels in parts of the country following three months of escalating violence.

The One Childhood, One Chance Alliance – made up of Save the Children, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), UNICEF, Action Against Hunger, ALIMA, The ELMA Relief Foundation and others – aims to reach at least five million children in fragile contexts with life-saving nutrition treatment and services.

Agriculture accounts for up to 80% of food and income in Sudan, but the conflict, combined with climate pressures, has decimated farming and further declines in cereal production are forecasted ahead of planting starting this month.

About half of children under 5 in Somalia are facing acute malnutrition as poor rains and rising costs drive up hunger levels, with risk of famine announced for the first time in four years.

Seven-month-old Muskan* from northern Afghanistan received timely treatment for severe acute malnutrition thanks to an IHA MAPLE-funded Save the Children health facility, leading to significant improvement in her health as she continues her recovery.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) project that a quarter of the population of Lebanon - 1.24 million people – with 366,000 additional people, including 113,000 more children, will face crisis‑level food insecurity or worse in coming months.

In a new report, When Aid Disappears, Childhood Disappears Too, Save the Children reveals how the collapse of international aid funding to Somalia in 2025 may soon lead to catastrophic outcomes for children not seen since the 2011 famine, which killed over 257,000 people.

The new analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the world’s leading authority on hunger monitoring, further found that about 706,000 children out of the 2.7 million in 45 rural districts assessed in three provinces are predicted to suffer from severe acute malnutrition before September this year.

Fuel prices in Mogadishu surged 150% in March, from $0.60 to $1.50 per litre, with many imported food items doubling in retail price in just two weeks. Somalia's electricity supply, which relies heavily on diesel generators, also saw sharp cost increases, with pressures felt by households as well as schools and hospitals.

One in three people are facing severe food shortages in Somalia as worsening drought, conflict, and soaring food prices drive up hunger levels, with the situation nearly as bad as in 2022 when the country was on the brink of famine.

In this firsthand blog, Vishna Shah-Little, Save the Children’s Director of Child Rights, Advocacy and Campaigning, shares her experiences travelling across Sudan, witnessing collapsing healthcare, mass displacement, and families’ urgent needs. Her reflections highlight the lifesaving importance of open clinics, supported health workers, and sustained funding to protect children’s health, dignity, and hope as the conflict continues.