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Ethiopia: 74,583 malnutrition-related deaths in 2025 alone, driven by conflict, drought, and economic shocks, with 4.4 million pregnant women and children needing treatment. Child wasting exceeds 15% in Somali, Oromia, Tigray, and Afar regions.
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Bangladesh: Estimated 95,000–100,000 malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, with 40% of under-5 deaths linked to malnutrition (CHAMPS data, 2016–2023). South Asia’s high child malnutrition rates persist due to poverty and inadequate feeding practices.
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Angola: Estimated 33,000–35,000 malnutrition-related deaths in 2025. Post-war recovery struggles, drought, and poor infrastructure exacerbate food insecurity, particularly in rural areas.
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Sudan: Approximately 520,000 starvation deaths in the past two years (2023–2025), with famine declared in Zamzam camp, North Darfur, where one child dies every two hours. Global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates exceed 30% in multiple regions.
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Yemen: Over 80,000 children under 5 died from starvation between 2015–2018, with ongoing conflict and blockades pushing 39.5% of the population into malnutrition by 2024. Recent data suggests continued high mortality, though exact 2020–2025 figures are unavailable.
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Somalia: Over 51% of the population faced malnutrition in 2021–2023, with the highest Global Hunger Index score (44.1) in 2024. Child mortality from malnutrition remains critical, with no precise death counts for 2020–2025 due to data gaps.
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North Korea: Limited data exists, but UNICEF reports severe food insecurity affecting 10.7 million people (42% of the population) in 2023, with 140,000 children under 5 suffering acute malnutrition. Malnutrition-related deaths are estimated in the tens of thousands annually, though exact figures for 2020–2025 are unavailable due to restricted reporting.
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South Sudan: Over 6.7% of children under 5 face coexisting stunting and wasting, among the highest globally. Famine conditions in 2024 affected 35,000–49,900 people, with malnutrition contributing to 50% of under-5 deaths (2016–2023 CHAMPS data).
Why do some humanitarian crises dominate headlines while others, claiming countless lives, fade into silence?
