Iran war may push 45 million people into acute hunger by June, WFP says

(Reuters)

GENEVA, March 17 – Tens of millions more people will face acute hunger ​if the Iran war continues through to ‌June, according to analysis from the World Food Programme released on Tuesday.

The U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran that began on ​February 26 have choked up key humanitarian aid ​routes, delaying life-saving shipments to some of the ⁠world’s worst crises.

An extra 45 million are projected ​to be pushed into acute hunger because of ​rises in food, oil and shipping costs, pushing the global tally above its current record level of 319 million, Deputy ​Executive Director of the World Food Programme Carl ​Skau told reporters in Geneva.

“This would take global hunger levels ‌to ⁠an all-time record and it’s a terrible, terrible prospect,” he said. “Already, before this war, we were in a perfect storm where hunger has never been ​as severe ​as now, ⁠in terms of numbers and how deep that hunger is,” he added.

Skau said ​its shipping costs are up 18% since ​the ⁠U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28 and that some have had to be rerouted. The ⁠extra ​costs come on top of ​deep spending cuts by the WFP, as donors focus more on ​defence, he added.