The Director General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has criticised the scale of global military spending, warning that the world’s priorities remain misaligned while millions continue to face hunger.
Ghebreyesus made the remarks in a post on X on Wednesday, highlighting the sharp contrast between global defence spending and the financial resources needed to tackle hunger worldwide.
According to him, global military expenditure reached about 2.7 trillion dollars in a single year. He compared this figure with estimates from the United Nations which indicate that around 93 billion dollars annually would be sufficient to eliminate global hunger by 2030.
The WHO chief said the comparison shows that the world currently spends almost 30 times more on military activities than on ensuring that people have enough food to eat.
In his post, Ghebreyesus stated that the numbers reveal a troubling imbalance in global priorities. He argued that while governments continue to increase defence budgets, far less attention and resources are directed toward addressing one of the most urgent humanitarian challenges facing the world.
He added that the disparity between spending on weapons and investment in food security highlights a broader global failure to prioritise human welfare and sustainable development.
His comments come at a time when many countries are expanding their military budgets due to growing geopolitical tensions and conflicts in different parts of the world. Rising defence expenditure has been recorded across several regions as governments respond to security threats and ongoing international disputes.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has repeatedly warned that hunger and food insecurity remain widespread. Millions of people across the world continue to face severe food shortages caused by armed conflict climate ce economic inility and displacement.
Under the global development framework known as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, world leaders have pledged to end hunger by 2030. However experts say achieving this target will require stronger political commitment increased funding and greater cooperation among governments and international organisations.
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