UN says Iran war is driving millions into acute hunger worldwide

The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that the ongoing Iran war is pushing millions of vulnerable people towards acute hunger as rising oil prices continue to impact global food security.

In a report released on Friday, the WFP said worsening economic conditions linked to the conflict are already affecting some of the world’s poorest countries.

Earlier this year, the agency predicted that 45 million people could fall into acute food insecurity if the Middle East conflict continued driving up oil prices. The organisation now says that scenario is becoming reality.

According to the report, an additional 2.5 million people in Somalia, 1.3 million in Sri Lanka and 2.3 million in Afghanistan are now “struggling to meet basic food needs and, in some cases, being pushed into acute hunger due to the crisis.”

Jean-Martin Bauer, director of the WFP’s food security and nutrition analysis service, warned that the situation is rapidly worsening.

“We warned that this crisis could push millions more people into hunger; now we are watching it happen in real time. In many cases, the poorest families around the world, far from the center of the crisis, are being hit the hardest,” Bauer said.

The WFP added that the humanitarian impact of the war is expected to continue for months, even if tensions in the Middle East begin to ease.