Africa: Africa Now World's Hunger Capital, As Global Hunger Falls for Third Year

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a Vanguard report from Lagos by Chioma Obinna, reported that the 2026 edition of the UN’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World says global hunger fell for a third straight year in 2025, even as Africa became the region with the largest number of hungry people. The report was released Tuesday by five UN agencies: FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO.

According to the article, hunger affected 7.8% of the global population in 2025, down from 8.1% in 2024. The UN agencies estimated that about 645 million people worldwide went hungry, a decline of nearly 14 million from the previous year and 43 million from 2022. Africa, however, accounted for about 309 million hungry people, ahead of Asia’s 292 million, with roughly one in five Africans experiencing hunger.

The report also highlighted wider food insecurity and nutrition concerns. Vanguard cited UN estimates that 2.1 billion people faced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025, while nearly 2.7 billion people could not afford a healthy diet. In Africa, 66.6% of the population was reported to be unable to afford healthy food. The agencies also warned that child stunting, limited dietary diversity among young children, rising anaemia among women and increasing adult obesity remain major concerns.

The findings matter because they show global progress is uneven and still too slow to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of ending hunger by 2030. The report warned that conflict, extreme weather, reduced humanitarian funding and lower development assistance could undermine gains, and called for stronger investment in food systems, infrastructure, irrigation, cold chains, research, trade reforms and policies that make nutritious food more affordable.