45 million more face acute hunger risk if Iran war continues through June, World Food Programme says

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 ​US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began on February ​28 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 US-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....