Africa: Global Hunger Declines Again but Progress Remains Uneven Across Regions

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a UN News Service report dated 21 July 2026, reported that global hunger fell for the third year in a row in 2025, but the improvement remains too limited and uneven to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of ending hunger by 2030. The findings come from the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, produced by FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. It estimated that 7.8% of people worldwide — about 645 million — experienced hunger in 2025, down from 8.1% in 2024 and 8.6% in 2022.

The report highlighted a major regional shift: Africa now has the largest absolute number of people facing hunger. About 309 million people on the continent were undernourished in 2025, compared with 292 million in Asia. Africa’s hunger rate edged down to 20.0% from 20.3% a year earlier, but population growth meant the total number remained higher.

Broader food insecurity also remained severe. Globally, about 2.1 billion people faced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025. In Africa, the share was 56.6%, far above Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Northern America and Europe. The agencies cited conflict, weather shocks, reduced aid and humanitarian funding, and food cost pressures as threats to further progress.

The report also found nutrition gains moving slowly, with adult obesity rising and 150 million children under five still stunted. Although fewer people globally were unable to afford a healthy diet than in 2021, Africa remained deeply affected, with 66.6% of its population unable to afford one in 2025.