Famine is not a natural disaster and can be prevented. Across the world’s hunger hotspots, early warnings are clear, yet governments continue to act too late – or not at all. Conflict, blockades, and the denial of humanitarian access, not food scarcity, are driving a deepening hunger crisis, with children suffering first and longest. As aid budgets are cut, the gap between need and response is widening fast. This is a false economy: preventing famine costs far less than responding once lives are already lost. World Vision warns famine can be predicted and prevented – but only if leaders act early, protect civilians, and put children at the centre of hunger prevention.

Policy Brief | Famine Prevention & Food Security

Fatim, a mother of six, fled armed violence in Torou and now rebuilds her life in Koro. She supports her family by pounding millet, doing laundry, and selling gravel, while her husband receives medical care and her eldest son works in artisanal gold mining.

World Vision Mali’s 2025 Annual Report highlights key achievements improving children’s lives through education, WASH, nutrition and humanitarian assistance.

The escalation of hostilities in Lebanon is intense and rapidly expanding, resulting in nearly 820,000 forcibly displaced people - more than 200,000 of them children - in less than two weeks. Evacuation orders are expanding, with the country to the south launching the ‘South of Zahrani River’ initiative. Evacuation orders now encompass the entire region south of the Litani River, triggering waves of mass displacement as well as repeated displacement among already vulnerable families. In several Christian-majority towns in the South, residents initially resisted leaving their homes, but were ultimately evacuated under the escort of UNIFIL for civilian protection. Hostilities are increasingly affecting areas beyond the ‘traditional’ frontline zones, a troubling trend that points to a more aggressive escalation than that of 2024. Recent airstrikes hit the neighborhoods of Haret Saida, Tyre, Aramoun, Ramlet El Bayda, areas deemed safer, in one case targeting a car nearby displaced families staying in tents. Targeting of central Beirut is new - with strikes on hotels and residential buildings that inevidably affect civilians in the surrounding areas. An estimated have been killed, with 81 children killed since March 1. UNICEF estimates that 10 children per day are killed. Lebanon’s Ministry of Social Affairs reports 822,600 internally displaced people self-registered on the Government’s digital platform, indicating that overall displacement is significantly higher than that captured through collective shelter reporting. In addition, almost 84,000 Syrians and more than 8,000 Lebanese have crossed into Syria since 2 March. Violations to International Humanitarian Law continue, with frontline responders at great risk. To date, 14 paramedics were killed, including one member of the Lebanese Red Cross, underscoring the growing risks faced by emergency personnel.

Four years into the war in Ukraine, children remain at the centre of a deepening protection crisis. Today, one in three children in Ukraine requires humanitarian assistance, as sustained exposure to violence, displacement, family separation and the erosion of essential services continue to shape their daily lives.

International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026 calls for “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.” (United Nations). In Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia, these words resonate in contexts where drought and conflict collide - driving displacement, hunger, and protection risks while stretching already fragile services for women and girls. As the Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG), we issue this joint call to recognise and respond to the compounded realities facing women and girls across these crises.

Fatim et sa famille ont fui les violences armées à Torou, dans le cercle de Bankass. Réinstallée à Koro avec ses six enfants, elle s’adapte à la vie urbaine en travaillant dur : elle pile le mil, fait la lessive et vend du gravier pour subvenir aux besoins familiaux. Son mari âgé de 65 ans suit un traitement médical pour l’hypertension, tandis que son fils aîné travaille sur un site d’orpaillage artisanal.