The United Nations’ 2026 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) Report revealed that globally, chronic hunger is declining. An estimated 645 million people, or 1 in 13 people, lived with hunger in 2025, down from 673 million in 2024. While we celebrate this decline, it is important to recognize that the progress is uneven and insufficient to end hunger by 2030.
“This year’s hunger data shows that hunger is solvable. It is not inevitable. While today’s news that hunger has declined is hopeful, the reality is 645 million people are still living with it, even after decades of investment and innovation,” said Rowlands Kaotcha, President and CEO of The Hunger Project. “Money, technology, and more of the same are never going to finish the job. What ends hunger for good is rethinking the mindsets that tolerate it in the first place—more than closing a gap, it’s about creating a world where hunger has no place.”
Key Findings from the 2026 SOFI Report
Bright spots:
- Chronic hunger declined globally. In 2025, 7.8% of the global population faced hunger, down from 8.2% in 2024. Moderate and severe food insecurity has also decreased.
- The gender gap is closing. While food insecurity is higher among women than men, the gap is closing.
- More people globally can afford a healthy diet. In 2025, 67.3% of the population could afford a healthy diet, up from 62.6% in 2024.
Areas of Concern:
- Progress has been inequitable. While other regions have seen a decline in chronic hunger, the number of people living with chronic hunger in Africa and Western Asia has increased.
- The gender gap has widened, again. The prevalence of food insecurity is consistently higher among women than among men, globally and in all regions.
- Many women and children are lacking dietary diversity. Two-thirds of children aged 6 months to 2 years and one-third of women aged 15 to 49 do not consume a diverse enough diet to get adequate nutrition.
- We must accelerate action to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. 512 million people are projected to be chronically undernourished by 2030—60% of whom will live in Africa.
Addressing the Cost of a Healthy Diet
In order to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2—ending hunger (SDG 2.1) and all forms of malnutrition (SDG 2.2)—people must not only have access to sufficient food, it must also be nutritious.
The report uses Purchasing Power Parity dollars (PPP dollars) to demonstrate the cost of a healthy diet globally. This measurement allows economists to compare money across countries and account for how far that money actually goes in each place. According to the report, the cost of a healthy diet rose to 4.28 PPP dollars per day in 2025, up from 3.44 PPP dollars in 2021 and 2.94 PPP dollars in 2017. The World Banks’ international poverty line sits at 3 PPP dollars.
SOFI 2026 also highlights that the cost of a healthy diet is influenced by more than agricultural production alone. Much of the final cost is added after food leaves the farm through storage, transport, processing, distribution, and retail. This underscores the importance of strengthening the entire agrifood system to make nutritious diets more affordable and accessible.
Of particular concern, the percentage of people who cannot afford a healthy diet remains highest in Africa. The report estimates that good nutrition is out of reach for 66.6% of Africans in 2025—more than double the levels seen in Asia (28.9%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (25.7%).
“In Zambia, the high cost of nutritious food remains a significant barrier for many rural families,” said Samuel Mutambo, Country Leader, The Hunger Project-Zambia. “Rising food prices, climate-related shocks, and economic pressures have made healthy diets increasingly unaffordable, with women and children bearing the greatest burden. When nutritious foods are out of reach, the consequences are reflected in persistent rates of child malnutrition and poor health outcomes.”
Our Approach: Rooted in Resilience
Addressing the cost and accessibility of a healthy diet is crucial to creating a world without hunger.
“Investing in community-led development, women’s leadership and resilient local food systems is critical because healthy diets are shaped by decisions and systems closest to the household,” said Irene Naikaali, Country Leader of The Hunger Project-Uganda.
In our programs around the world, we work with communities to increase access to diverse and nutritious foods. Through workshops and trainings, we:
Strengthen local food systems: By expanding home gardens and community agriculture, communities reduce reliance on volatile markets.
Increase livelihood diversification: After our programs, women and youth feel equipped to create multiple income streams, which helps them weather economic shocks.
Improve nutrition access: Community leaders provide education about nutrition, particularly for women and young children, and facilitate access to nutrition supplements where needed.
Community leadership: Our programs strengthen community capacity to advocate for culturally grounded, sustainable solutions.
Violet is a leader of the Mukama Mulungi Mother Club, which was established as part of The Hunger Project-Uganda’s maternal and child nutrition program. “In our village, hunger was a quiet, repetitive guest,” she shared. “We thought nutrition was only about meat, yet we did not have it. We simply did not know that our own local foods held the power to save us. Now our homes have food. Our children are strong, and we have not recorded deaths related to malnutrition in the last three years.”
A World Without Hunger is Possible
This is a moment that demands both celebration and urgency. The 2026 SOFI Report holds promising signs of a world without hunger, yet there are systems of inequity that are holding millions of people back. We cannot call it true progress if it leaves women and rural communities behind. What the world needs now is not more of the same—it’s the courage to reexamine how we approach the issue of hunger and what it will take to create a world without it.
The 2026 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report was published on July 21, 2026 jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Photos (top to bottom): Burkina Faso 2025; Uganda 2024 for The Hunger Project