Global hunger levels declined for the third consecutive year in 2025, but Africa remains the region carrying the heaviest burden, with more hungry people than any other continent and more than half of its population facing moderate or severe food insecurity, according to the latest United Nations food security report.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026 report, released by five UN agencies, estimates that 7.8 percent of the world's population experienced hunger in 2025, down from 8.1 percent in 2024 and 8.6 percent in 2022.

The decline means the number of people facing hunger fell to about 645 million in 2025, representing a reduction of nearly 14 million people compared with 2024 and 43 million compared with 2022.

However, the report warns that global progress remains fragile and uneven, with conflict, climate shocks, rising food costs and reduced humanitarian funding threatening efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of ending hunger by 2030.

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said the progress showed that improvement was possible but warned that stronger action was required.

“The report shows that progress is possible, but we must move faster. Ending hunger and making healthy diets affordable requires political commitment, sustained investment and enabling policies.”

Despite global improvements, Africa continues to experience the highest levels of food insecurity.

The report estimates that Africa had approximately 309 million hungry people in 2025, compared with 292 million in Asia, making it the continent with the largest number of people affected by hunger.

Although the proportion of Africans facing hunger slightly declined from 20.3 percent in 2024 to 20.0 percent in 2025, population growth means the absolute number of affected people remains extremely high.

The broader measure of food insecurity paints an even more concerning picture. More than half of Africa's population (56.6 percent) experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025, compared with 20.3 percent in Asia, 22.9 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 8.7 percent in Northern America and Europe.

The figures show that while some regions are recovering from recent shocks, Africa continues to face deeper structural challenges linked to poverty, agricultural vulnerability, climate change, conflict and high food costs.

Beyond hunger, the report highlights the growing challenge of affordability.

The average global cost of a healthy diet increased to 4.28 purchasing power parity (PPP) dollars per person per day in 2025, up from 3.44 PPP dollars in 2021 and 2.94 PPP dollars in 2017.

Although the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet declined globally from 2.97 billion in 2021 to 2.69 billion in 2025, Africa recorded worsening affordability challenges.

The report estimates that 66.6 percent of Africa's population could not afford a healthy diet in 2025, more than double the levels recorded in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.

UN agencies say the problem is not only food production but also the cost of moving food from farms to consumers.

The report notes that 70 to 75 percent of food costs come from activities after production, including processing, transportation, logistics and wholesale. Up to 40 percent of total costs are linked specifically to processing, logistics and wholesale activities.

This means investments in infrastructure, transport networks, storage facilities, irrigation and cold-chain systems could play a major role in reducing food prices and improving access to nutritious diets.

IFAD President Alvaro Lario said stronger value chains were central to addressing food affordability.

“Resilient value chains must be a central part of the answer. Our task now is to turn the evidence SOFI provides into investment - and to do so through partnership.”

The report also highlights continued challenges in child and maternal nutrition.

Global progress in reducing child stunting, wasting, overweight, low birthweight and improving exclusive breastfeeding remains too slow to meet the 2030 targets.

Around 150 million children under the age of five remain stunted, while only 30.8 percent of children aged six to 23 months globally consume a minimally diverse diet.

The report also warns that anaemia among women aged 15 to 49 is worsening, while adult obesity continues to rise.

Global adult obesity increased from 12.1 percent in 2012 to 16.2 percent in 2024, moving further away from the target of halting its increase.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said access to healthy food remains a major public health challenge.

“While we welcome the clear progress we have made in reducing hunger, a healthy diet still remains unaffordable for one in three people globally.”

He added: “Healthy diets are not a luxury - they are the foundation of health and must be within everyone's reach.”

The UN report warns that recent crises could slow the progress made in reducing hunger.

Updated projections, which consider the impact of the Middle East conflict, estimate that between 510 million and 520 million people could still face hunger by 2030, compared with the lower pre-conflict projection of 503 million people.

The agencies identified conflict, extreme weather events, rising energy and fertiliser prices, and declining humanitarian assistance as major risks.

WFP Acting Executive Director Carl Skau said hunger statistics represent real families facing difficult choices.

“Behind every number in this report is a family counting the cost of food. Conflict and climate shocks push them further beyond their means.”

The global trends have direct relevance for countries such as Zimbabwe, where food security remains closely linked to agricultural output, climate conditions, household incomes and food prices.

Zimbabwe has recorded improvements in some agricultural sectors, including increased wheat production and stronger maize output in recent seasons, but challenges remain around affordability, nutrition and households' access to diverse diets.

The SOFI report's emphasis on food value chains also highlights the importance of transport infrastructure, storage, irrigation and market efficiency in reducing food costs. Countries that increase production but fail to address logistics and post-harvest losses may struggle to translate agricultural gains into cheaper and more nutritious food for consumers.