This year is unfolding as one of the most dangerous periods of global hunger in recent memory, as conflicts in Gaza, Sudan and other regions drag on and funding dries up, a World Food Programme official has warned.
Carl Skau, WFP deputy executive director and chief operating officer, described a “perfect storm” in which soaring needs, political deadlock and shrinking donor support are converging.
Mr Skau was speaking to The National during the Munich Security Conference, which this year has been dominated by debate over building a new world order, a painful process likely to involve political upheaval and, potentially, more conflicts.
“When we ended 2025, many colleagues who have worked in this field for 40 years agreed it was probably the hardest year we had seen,” said Mr Skau. “But 2026 has not begun in any easier fashion.”
Around 300 million people worldwide are now acutely food insecure, triple the number five years ago.
“We have what we basically call a perfect storm, where needs continue to rise,” Mr Skau explained. At the same time, the WFP’s funding fell by 40 per cent in 2025, largely driven by US foreign aid freezes under the Donald Trump administration. The shortfall has led to ration cuts and the suspension of some operations.
“We are having to cut people off, mothers, widowed mothers with many children, [from] our assistance, that we know children will die from. And at the same time, we are struggling with these political challenges, whether in Gaza or Sudan or Yemen.”
Gaza's urgent needs
One of the most devastated places needing assistance is Gaza. Israel’s war, launched after Hamas attacks that killed hundreds of Israelis, has destroyed the enclave and killed more than 70,000 Palestinians.
The coastal territory has been at the centre of international politics and has become a major foreign policy issue for many countries, including the US. At the same time, it remains the focus of urgent humanitarian efforts, amid warnings of famine affecting two million people.
Four months into the ceasefire, the humanitarian situation remains severe, despite some improvements. On food security, there has been tangible progress. WFP is assisting about 1.5 million people each month, and basic supplies have begun to reappear in local markets.
“The worst part of the food security situation has been stabilised,” said Mr Skau, who leads the organisation’s overall co-ordination, strategic direction, humanitarian diplomacy and support for field operations.
But beyond food, conditions remain dire. “Living conditions are absolutely brutal. Most people are in makeshift tents on the beaches. With wind and rain, it’s horrendous.” Shelter has become the most urgent priority, particularly in winter.
Education, however, has offered a rare sign of hope. An estimated 300,000 children have returned to some form of schooling.
“When I was there, seeing children back in school was the only real glimmer of hope,” he said, calling for that to be scaled up to reach more than 800,000 school-age children. “Let's make sure that all kids have somewhere to go during the day to learn.”
That was Mr Skau's sixth visit to Gaza since the war began in October 2023. The scale of devastation he said, was worse than during his previous trips. “The level of destruction is hard to describe. And the fact that it was even [more] now than it was a few months ago, it's almost hard to imagine.”
While food deliveries have increased, he believes the next step is to restore Gaza’s local economy. “We would like instead to see the commercial, the private sector to be bringing that food and for us to be able to assist with cash so that we get markets functioning and some kind of local food system back on its feet,” he explained.
Asked whether enough aid is entering Gaza, he was cautious. “When it comes to food, yes, there has been massive progress,” he said. “In other sectors, clearly not.”
The war has also destroyed more than 90 per cent of Gaza’s cropland, along with greenhouses and water sources. Rubble, insecurity and continuing movement restrictions mean that only around 4 per cent of arable land is accessible to farmers.
The key obstacles are political, and discussions about moving to a second phase of the US-sponsored ceasefire continue, but the situation on the ground remains unstable.
“There is talk of phase two. Some argue that we are already in phase two on the ground. That's not really the reality,” Mr Skau said.
“I hope that those political blockages can be unlocked so that we can move into what they call phase two … Still there is a lot of conflict as well. It's nothing near what we had before the ceasefire, but it's not like it's going away”.
Aid for all Sudanese
In Yemen, a lower-intensity conflict has not translated into easier humanitarian work. In the north, 38 WFP staff members have been detained by Houthi rebels, severely limiting operations in areas where acute hunger remains widespread.
“That has really hampered our ability to deliver,” he said.
In the south, conditions are more stable, with around two million people receiving assistance. But political uncertainty continues to stall meaningful recovery. “What we need is a political solution so we can move from emergency support to sustainable rebuilding.”
In Sudan, access issues are compounded by direct threats to aid workers. In the past 10 days alone, WFP convoys have been involved in four security incidents. In one attack, three drivers were killed.
“We are pushing the limits to reach the hardest areas,” Mr Skau explained. Both sides in the war, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, are accused of blocking aid and committing atrocities.
Operations in RSF-controlled Darfur have improved, with nearly two million people receiving assistance. Attention is now shifting to war-hit Kordofan and areas around Kadugli, where needs are growing.
Mr Skau also rejected online claims that WFP vehicles were transporting weapons. “That is completely unfounded and extremely dangerous,” he warned. “If those rumours spread, our front-line staff are put at risk. We deliver food and assistance in a neutral and impartial way.”
At the Munich conference – dominated by talk of geopolitical rivalry and expanding wars – the humanitarian perspective remains stark: needs are rising, but funding is falling, and political solutions remain difficult to achieve.
“All that together makes this a challenge that we've never seen before”, said Mr Skau.
