Middle East Escalation Could Leave 11.7 Million More Women and Girls Facing Food Insecurity by End-2026 By UN Women Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Middle East Escalation Could Leave 11.7 Million More Women and Girls Facing Food Insecurity by End-2026 By UN Women Disruption to the Strait of Hormuz is driving up food prices and putting further strain on the livelihoods and household resources of millions of women and girls, according to a new UN Women analysis. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/middle-east-escalation-could-leave-11-7-million-more-women-and-girls-facing-food-insecurity-by-end-2026/ GENEVA, Oct 13 2026 (IPS) - An additional 11.7 million women and girls could face food insecurity by the end of 2026, as the escalation in the Middle East and disruption to the Strait of Hormuz drive up food prices and strain livelihoods and household resources, according to a new UN Women analysis published today. “Food security risks of the Middle East escalation for women and girls” finds that women and girls account for 53 per cent of the projected 22 million additional people who could face food insecurity by the end of the year across 28 countries analyzed. This is in addition to an estimated 208 million women and girls who were already food insecure or undernourished in these countries. These are scenario-based estimates, not forecasts. Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -