Unveiled on Thursday at UN Headquarters in New York, the platform integrates food security data with predictive modelling, offering what WFP describes as the most comprehensive and up‑to‑date picture of hunger affecting the world’s most vulnerable populations.
HungerMap Live draws on data from more than 300 analysts and dozens of trusted partners, combining government‑validated statistics, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), agricultural indicators and economic data. The result is a powerful tool that allows journalists, policymakers, researchers and humanitarian actors to identify emerging risks and respond more quickly.
“It allows you to have your finger on the pulse of global food insecurity,” said Jean Martin Bauer, WFP’s Director of Food Security and Nutrition Analysis. “It helps answer where hunger is, why it is happening, and where it is likely to worsen.”
The launch comes at a critical moment. According to IPC data, the number of people facing the most severe form of hunger has risen 15‑fold, from 85 000 in 2019 to 1.4 million in 2025, while funding for humanitarian action continues to decline.
WFP says the platform’s predictive modelling enables early warning and cost‑effective responses. Studies show that every Dollar invested in anticipatory action can generate at least seven dollars in savings by preventing crises from escalating.
WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said the platform marks a shift from reacting to hunger to getting ahead of it. “Without data, the fight against hunger is fought in the dark. This platform changes that by helping us track and predict where, how and why hunger is growing,” she said.
HungerMap Live also introduces artificial intelligence‑assisted forecasting for WFP’s designated hunger hotspots, including 16 countries already facing catastrophic food insecurity. A new feature on micronutrient intake adequacy, developed with support from the Gates Foundation, links food availability to dietary quality, helping identify communities at risk of hidden hunger caused by vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
WFP officials warn that global food security monitoring itself is under threat, with the agency’s data footprint shrinking by 25% in the past year. “You can’t stop hunger if you can’t see it coming,” Bauer said, urging sustained investment in data systems to prevent future humanitarian catastrophes.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
