WFP Launches HungerMap to Track Global Food Crisis

A young girl carries a pot of cooked food in Al-Mawasi, Gaza.

The World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday launched its next-generation platform, HungerMap Live, a digital monitoring and intelligence tool that integrates food security data with predictive modelling to help combat hunger in more than 50 countries.

Bringing together data from more than 300 analysts and dozens of trusted partners, including government-validated statistics, the hunger classification index IPC, and agricultural and economic data, the platform provides one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date pictures of hunger affecting the world’s most vulnerable populations.

“It allows journalists, policymakers and students to keep a finger on the pulse of global food insecurity,” said Jean Martin Bauer, Director of Food Security and Nutrition Analysis at WFP, speaking at UN Headquarters in New York.

The platform’s launch comes at a critical time, as funding for humanitarian action remains limited and the number of people facing the most severe forms of hunger has surged sharply. According to the internationally recognised IPC index, the figure has risen from 85,000 in 2019 to 1.4 million in 2025.

Cost-saving potential

Using predictive modelling, the platform addresses three key questions: the current state of global food security, regions requiring urgent attention, and the underlying drivers of food insecurity.

Studies show that early warning systems can deliver significant cost savings and operational efficiencies. For every dollar invested in WFP’s anticipatory action programmes, at least seven dollars can be saved.

“Without data, the fight against hunger is carried out in the dark,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. “This platform changes that. It allows us to track and predict where, how and why hunger is growing, so we can act before crises escalate.”

AI-assisted forecasting

The platform includes AI-assisted forecasting tools to project food needs in WFP-designated hunger hotspots, covering 16 countries where populations are already facing extreme food insecurity.

Another key feature is the inclusion of “micronutrient intake adequacy”, linking food security conditions with diet quality. Developed with support from the Gates Foundation, this analysis helps identify populations at risk of “hidden hunger” caused by deficiencies in essential vitamins and minerals.

Need for sustained support

Funding for global food security monitoring has declined sharply, with WFP’s data coverage shrinking by 25 percent over the past year.

“You can’t stop hunger if you can’t see it coming,” Bauer said, stressing the need for continued investment in data collection to ensure a reliable early warning system capable of alerting the world to emerging crises before they worsen.