A further 49 million people will suffer from acute hunger within a year unless El Niño is brought forward
WFP: “In the 45 countries already facing a food crisis, the number of cases will rise from 225 million to 274 million.” Cesvi: “We know where it will strike and when; we must act sooner.”
Key points
A further 49 million people worldwide are at risk of becoming victims of acute hunger by the end of 2027, due to El Niño.
The alarm has been sounding for some time: the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) speaks of a potentially unprecedented meteorological event and the World Food Programme (WFP) has set out in black and white that in the 45 countries already facing a food crisis, the number of people suffering from acute hunger will rise from 225 to 274 million: an increase of 22 per cent.
Cesvi sounds the alarm at the start of COP31
The alert has been issued by Cesvi, on the very day that COP31 gets underway in Antalya, with the first day of the conference dedicated to food, agriculture and health.
“El Niño represents the first major climate crisis that we have been able to identify months in advance: we know where it will strike, when it will happen and how many people are at risk of losing their crops, homes and access to food”, says Stefano Piziali, Director-General of Cesvi. “And yet, the aid system continues to operate only once an emergency has been declared, when costs are highest, the damage is greatest and the consequences – especially for children – can be irreversible,” he adds. “On the occasion of COP31, we are calling for proactive action.”
The resource hub
However, resources are lacking: for food security in crisis contexts, in 2025 only $10.55 billion was received out of the $29 billion required (just over a third). Funding for food security and the impact of climate change in crisis contexts has fallen to its lowest level since 2016–2017; furthermore, almost half (44 per cent) of the global reduction in humanitarian aid in 2025 was concentrated in five countries: Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Afghanistan and South Sudan. A scenario involving a sharp reduction in development funding could result in 5.4 million additional deaths among children under five.
