UN: Middle East Conflict Could Push 45 Million More Into Hunger

March 17, 2026 | 09:03 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that an additional 45 million people might be facing hunger if the conflict in the Middle East continues.

"If the Middle East conflict continues through June, an additional 45 million people could be pushed into acute hunger by price rises," Carl Skau, the deputy executive director of the UN's World Food Programme, told a press conference in Geneva.

"This would take global hunger levels to an all-time record, and it's a terrible, terrible prospect," he said, with 319 million people around the world currently acutely food insecure.

Skau said its shipping costs have spiked by 18% since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28.

The extra costs were coupled with heavy spending cuts as donors spend more on defense, Skau said.

China to Give Humanitarian Aid to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq

Beijing has announced that it will provide emergency humanitarian assistance to four Middle East nations impacted by the war in the region: Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. 

"It is hoped this will help alleviate the humanitarian plight faced by the local populations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told journalists. "China will continue to make every effort to promote peace and stop the war... and to prevent further spreading of the humanitarian crisis."    

China, an ally of Iran, is urging de-escalation in the region and has dispatched its special envoy for Middle East affairs, Jun Zhai, on a diplomatic tour this month in a bid to reduce tensions.

Jun recently visited Saudi Arabia and met with the Saudi Arabian foreign minister to discuss the crisis.  

Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi has said the war "should never have happened."

Read: Bank Indonesia Monitors Inflation Risks from Middle East Conflict and Dry Season

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