Guterres Calls Confirmation of Famine in Gaza and Sudan a “Shameful Milestone”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Tuesday that the confirmation of famine in Sudan and the Gaza Strip marked a “shameful milestone” in global food insecurity. He said 2025 saw not only the highest number of armed conflicts since World War II, but also record levels of global hunger, with at least 266 million people facing severe food insecurity. In 12 of the 13 areas experiencing the most severe food crises, he said, violence remains the primary driver of hunger.
WFP Acting Executive Director Carl Skau drew a direct link between wars and food shortages, saying, “One oil tanker anchored in the Strait of Hormuz can mean one less meal a day for a child in Sudan.” He noted that basic food prices in Sudan have risen nearly 40% since February.
A crisis at three key maritime chokepoints
Skau outlined a “crisis at three key maritime chokepoints” — the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Black Sea. He warned that restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz have severely reduced fertilizer availability, even though roughly a third of the world’s fertilizer trade passes through it. Oil prices rose 36% after the war in Iran began, while grain shipments through the Bosphorus Strait have fallen 40% compared to last year, posing serious risks to import-dependent countries like Somalia. Guterres proposed a limited-duration confidence-building measure focused initially on neutral verification and registration of fertilizer-carrying vessels, but stressed this was a practical facilitation mechanism, not a substitute for fully restoring maritime access rights in the region.
Systematic attacks on food systems
Action Against Hunger CEO Perrine Benoist said more than 900 attacks on food systems have occurred in Sudan since April 2023, including bombings of markets and looting of livestock. She said being a woman in Sudan has become a statistically significant indicator of the likelihood of going hungry, and that within just three weeks of losing access to food, children can begin suffering organ failure and severe physical wasting.
Guterres urged the Security Council to act preemptively rather than waiting for a formal famine declaration: “We cannot wait for formal confirmation of famine or catastrophe.” He called for full implementation of UN Resolution 2417 to prevent the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, protection of farms, ports, and food storage markets, and sanctions against those illegally obstructing humanitarian access. Skau noted a “glimmer of hope” in Gaza, but warned that funding shortfalls in Afghanistan mean WFP is unable to reach six out of every seven malnourished children there.