Welthungerhilfe (WHH) on the UN General Assembly: Hunger Threatens Global Security
Interplay Between Violent Conflicts and Hunger Should Be at Top of the Agenda, Urges Mathias Mogge, CEO of WHH
Bonn/Berlin, September 22, 2026. At the start of the UN General Debate in New York, Welthungerhilfe (WHH) warns of a rise in hunger and its consequences for peace and security worldwide. The war in Iran and the armed conflicts in Yemen and Saudi Arabia are causing severe restrictions on transport routes for fertilizers and energy from the Gulf region. Russia’s war on Ukraine is also driving up costs and complicating global grain trade from the Black Sea.
These military conflicts are impacting food markets worldwide through rising production and transportation costs. According to UN estimates, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and tensions in the Red Sea could leave an additional 45 million people facing acute hunger. Malnutrition, loss of income, and destroyed livelihoods make people more vulnerable to the next crisis, with consequences for social stability that can, in turn, give rise to new conflicts.
“The effects of war are no longer felt only where the fighting takes place. What begins as a regional conflict can become a global security risk through energy, trade, and food systems, triggering devastating chain reactions: fuel and fertilizer become more expensive, and bottlenecks in grain imports cause prices for staple foods to skyrocket. For millions of poor families, this means they can no longer feed themselves adequately. In Syria, for example, price increases of up to 40 percent for diesel and gasoline led to large-scale protests, as 90 percent of the population already lives below the poverty line.
Food insecurity does not automatically lead to conflict, but it can intensify existing crises and social tensions. That is why the international community in New York should not discuss the issue of security solely from a military perspective. Security begins with people being able to meet their most basic needs. Food security is therefore not simply one issue among many. It is a fundamental prerequisite for health, a self-determined life, and future opportunities, and is therefore crucial to the resilience and stability of communities and societies. The interplay between violent conflicts and hunger should therefore also be at the top of the agenda,” urges Mathias Mogge, CEO of WHH.
Against this backdrop, WHH calls on the German federal government to use the UN General Assembly in New York to send a clear signal in support of crisis prevention and international cooperation and to reverse the excessive cuts in the federal budget. Especially now, particularly vulnerable countries need support in making their agriculture and food systems more resilient to international price and supply shocks. Calling for prevention while simultaneously cutting the funding needed to achieve it is politically inconsistent.
Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest private aid organizations in Germany; it is politically independent and non-denominational. With courage and determination, it is striving for a world without hunger. Since it was founded on December 14, 1962, 13,424 international projects in about 72 countries and territories have been supported with 5.76 billion euros. Welthungerhilfe follows the principle of empowering people to help themselves to sustainably improve their living conditions, through approaches ranging from fast disaster relief to reconstruction and long-term development cooperation projects with national and international partner organizations.
