Three years of progress are not enough: why the world must reclaim the fight against hunger

The release of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026 sends a message that is both encouraging and sobering. For the third consecutive year, global hunger has declined. In 2025, the share of the world’s population facing hunger fell to 7.8%, equivalent to approximately 645m people, down from 8.6% in 2022. Nearly 43m people have escaped hunger in just three years.

This progress deserves recognition. It demonstrates that political commitment, investment, innovation and international co-operation can deliver results. But it would be a mistake to confuse progress with victory.

The world is not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2—Zero Hunger—by 2030. Behind the positive global averages lies a far more troubling reality: progress remains uneven, fragile and deeply unequal.

This is particularly evident in Africa. While hunger rates have stabilised slightly, the continent today accounts for more hungry people than Asia. Over 309m Africans continue to face hunger, compared with 292m in Asia. More than half of Africa’s population (56.6%) experiences moderate or severe food insecurity, a stark contrast to the levels recorded in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe. Geography is increasingly determining destiny, and the global community cannot accept a future where entire regions are left behind.

The report also reminds us that food security remains highly vulnerable to geopolitical instability and climate shocks. The ongoing Strait of Hormuz crisis, rising energy and fertiliser prices, conflict in the Middle East, increasingly frequent weather extremes, and declining development and humanitarian financing all threaten to reverse hard-won gains. Current projections suggest that between 510m and 520m people could still face hunger by 2030. That figure should be unacceptable to the international community.

The nutrition picture is equally concerning. While some indicators show modest improvement (child stunting, wasting, low birthweight and exclusive breastfeeding rates are improving only marginally), progress is far too slow. Anaemia among women continues to rise, adult obesity is increasing steadily across all regions, and multiple nutrition targets remain out of reach. The paradox of our age persists: millions suffer from hunger while millions more suffer from unhealthy diets and diet-related diseases. Food security is no longer simply about producing enough food; it is about ensuring access to healthy, nutritious and affordable diets for all.

The report’s focus on the affordability of healthy diets—intended as the minimum expenditure needed for adequate, balanced, diverse and moderate nutrition—reveals one of the most significant political challenges of our time. Although the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet has declined, nearly 2.7bn people remain excluded from the most basic prerequisite of human development: adequate nutrition. The situation in Africa is particularly alarming, where two-thirds of the population (more than double the rate in Asia or Latin America) cannot afford a healthy diet, calculated at an average global cost of $4.28 per person daily in 2025, up from $2.94 in 2017. This is not only a food challenge. It is an economic, social and developmental one that affects productivity, health, education and stability.

Addressing this gap requires more than short-term responses. It demands structural transformation. Investments in infrastructure, irrigation, research, storage systems, cold chains, transportation networks and efficient food logistics are essential to reduce costs and connect farmers to markets. Policies must support innovation, improve market functioning and ensure that trade and subsidy frameworks work for both producers and consumers. The fact that up to three-quarters of food costs originate beyond the farm gate highlights the enormous potential of improving value chains and reducing inefficiencies.

Most importantly, the report is a call for renewed multilateralism. Hunger does not respect borders, and neither can the solutions. At a time when geopolitical fragmentation risks weakening international co-operation, the world needs stronger collective action, not less. Climate adaptation, sustainable water management, resilient agri-food systems and anticipatory action against crises must become central pillars of the global development agenda.

International organisations such as FAO can support these efforts by combining global expertise with local solutions, supporting countries in designing policies, mobilising investments and strengthening resilience. But technical assistance alone is not enough. Success also requires political leadership and long-term commitment from governments and partners alike.

Europe also has a critical responsibility. Through initiatives such as the Global Gateway and its network of international partnerships, the European Union can help drive the investments needed to close the global food-security gap while reinforcing a rules-based and co-operative international order. In an increasingly uncertain world, Europe must continue to act as a reliable partner for sustainable development and food security.

The lesson from the 2026 report is clear: progress is possible, but progress is not enough. The decline in global hunger over the past three years shows what can be achieved when the international community acts together. The challenge now is to transform this fragile recovery into lasting change. The goal of ending hunger remains within reach, but only if we match the scale of the challenge with the scale of our ambition.

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