World Report 2025: Moderate Decline in Global Hunger Levels
Rising Inflation and Food Insecurity: A Global Concern
The 2025 World Food Security Report has highlighted the impact of inflation in the food sector as a significant contributor to hunger and food insecurity, particularly in Africa and Western Asia.
According to the report, global hunger slightly declined in 2024, but persistent inflationary pressures continue to significantly impact food affordability and nutrition, especially in low-income regions. The cost of a healthy diet globally increased to $4.46 per person per day in 2024 from $4.01 in 2022, making it unaffordable for about 2.6 billion people worldwide.
Food price inflation has been faster and higher than inflation in other commodities, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups whose expenditures on food are a larger share of their income. Inflationary pressures are linked to several factors, including fiscal and monetary policy responses to COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and extreme weather events, all contributing to global food price surges between 2021 and 2023.
Africa faces the most severe challenges, with 20% of the African population and 12.7% in Western Asia facing hunger, and food insecurity rising steadily in these regions. Africa is projected to account for nearly 60% of the 512 million people who might be chronically undernourished by 2030. More than 1 billion people in Africa cannot afford a healthy diet, a sharp increase from 864 million in 2019.
In response to these challenges, urgent policy responses are needed to mitigate inflation’s impact on food security, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where the cost of a healthy diet rose more sharply and more people cannot afford nutritious food. Interventions must focus on supporting vulnerable groups—women, rural communities, and children—who are disproportionately affected by food insecurity and malnutrition.
To achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2.1 (end hunger) and 2.2 (end malnutrition), countries need to address the underlying inflation drivers, improve food systems resilience against shocks (conflicts, climate change), and enhance social protection mechanisms. Continuous monitoring and tailored regional interventions are critical, especially for Africa and Western Asia, to reverse the increasing hunger trends and reduce malnutrition.
The World Food Programme, which is facing a 40% funding cut in 2025, plays a crucial role in providing life-saving aid to millions of people. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu has called for greater cooperation between governments, organizations, and local communities to address food shortages in the most affected geographical areas.
The 2025 report also underscores the need to address gender inequalities, which continue to be one of the main causes of fragility for a significant number of women. Obstacles that prevent or limit access to food are reinforced in this case by limited access to all types of resources, particularly economic, and weak social protection mechanisms for women.
The 2025 World Food Security Report was published on the occasion of the United Nations Food Systems Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The report contains a series of recommendations to combat the rise in food sector prices, including targeted fiscal actions, transparent and reliable monetary policies, investments in strategic sectors, and systems that can improve productivity and stimulate market resilience. The President of the United Nations Fund for Agriculture and Development has emphasized the need to increase investments in the agricultural sector to ensure food security and avoid global stability repercussions.
- The 2025 World Food Security Report, published on the occasion of the United Nations Food Systems Summit, calls for urgent policy responses in low- and middle-income countries regarding policy-and-legislation and politics, particularly in focus areas like Africa, to mitigate inflation's impact on food security and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2.1 and 2.2.
- To address the elevated food price inflation and reduce general-news headlines about hunger and food insecurity, the report recommends targeted fiscal actions, transparent monetary policies, investments in strategic sectors, and improvements in productivity and market resilience, all critical in shaping a positive future for the global food sector.
