Global hunger declines but grows in Africa and western Asia: UN Report

It is estimated that 8.2 percent of the global population, or about 673 million people, had a hunger 2024, which is 8.5 percent in 2023 and 8.7 percent in 2022. However, progress was not consistent around the world, because hunger is still growing in most of the Podregia of Africa and Western Asia, this year A state of security of food and diet in the world (Sofi 2025) The report has published today five specialized agencies of the United Nations.

Launching during the second Simple on UN Food Systems (UNFSS+4) in Addis Ababi, Sofi 2025 indicates that between 638 and 720 million people have faced famine 2024. Based on the point of point* of 673 million, this is a decrease of 15 million people from 2023 and from 22 million and from 2022.

Although the decline is welcome, the latest estimates remain above the pandemic level, with high food inflation in recent years contributed to the slow recovery of food safety.

Significant improvements are seen in South Asia and Latin America. The prevalence of folding (POU) in Asia fell 7.9 percent in 2022 to 6.7 percent, or 323 million people, 2024. In addition, Latin America and the Caribbean as a region noted that POU had fallen to 5.1 percent, or 34 million people, in 2024, which is less than 6.1 percent in 2020.

Unfortunately, this positive trend suddenly opposes the constant rise of hunger in Africa and western Asia, including in many countries affected by long -term food crises. The proportion of the population faced by hunger in Africa surpassed 20 percent in the age of 2024, guessing 307 million people, while in Western Asia about 12.7 percent of the population, or more than 39 million people, perhaps faced famine in 2024.

512 million people are predicted could be chronically submitted by 2030. Almost 60 percent of them will be in Africa. This emphasizes the huge challenge of the SDG 2 (zero hunger), warned the organization of food and agriculture of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations Children (UNICEF) Agency, UN World Food Program (WFP) and World Health Organization (which).

Monitoring of eating goals

• From 2023 to 2024, a global distribution of moderate or severe food uncertainty – an estimate that registered the experience of limiting access to adequate food during the part of the year – slightly decreased, from 28.4 to 28.0 percent, which makes up 2.3 billion people. It is 335 million more than in 2019, before the Coid-19 pandemia, and 683 million more than in 2015, when the agenda of sustainable development was adopted.
• Among the children's diet indicators, the prevalence of the downtime in children under the age of five decreased from 26.4 percent in 2012 to 23.2 percent in 2024, which reflected on global progress.
• Prevailing the overweight of children (5.3 percent in 2012 and 5.5 percent in 2024), and in the loss of children (7.4 percent in 2012 and 6.6 percent in 2024) remains largely unchanged.
• The percentage of infants under six months of age, exclusively breastfeeding, increased significantly, from 37.0 percent in 2012 to 47.8 percent in 2023, which reflects the increasing recognition of its health benefits.
• The prevalence of adult obesity increased from 12.1 percent in 2012 to 15.8 percent in 2022.
• New data show an increase in the global distribution of anemia in women between 15 and 49, from 27.6 percent in 2012 to 30.7 percent in 2023.
• Estimates for the new SDG indicator introduced in the report reveal that about one -third of children between the ages of 6 and 23, and two -thirds of women between the ages of 15 and 49, met the minimum nutritional diversity.

Food inflation

The Sofi 2025 also examines the causes and consequences of the increase in food prices 2021–2023 and its impact on food safety and nutrition.

The report emphasizes that the global response of the Pandemia Pandemius of Coid-19-Characterize extensive fiscal and monetary interventions with combination with the influences of war in Ukraine and extreme time events, contributed to recent inflation pressures.

This inflation prices of food interfered with recovery after a pandemic in food and nutrition safety. Since 2020, the global inflation prices of food prices have consistently exceeded the inflation of the title. The gap reached its peak in January 2023, and food inflation reached 13.6 percent, 5.1 percentage points above the main rate of 8.5 percent.

Low income countries are particularly affected by growing food prices. Although the middle global inflation increased food prices from 2.3 percent in December 2020. At 13.6 percent in early 2023, it climbed even more in low -revenue countries, reaching 30 percent in May 2023.

Despite the growing global food prices, the number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet fell from 2.76 billion in 2019 to 2.60 billion in 2024. However, the improvement was uneven. In low -income countries, where healthy diet costs more sharper than in higher income countries, the number of people who are unable to afford a healthy diet increased from 464 million in 2019 to 545 million in 2024. In countries with lower funds (without India), the number increased from 79 million in 2019.

The report recommends a combination of a policy response to inflation of food prices. Include targeted and time -limited fiscal measures, such as social protection programs, to protect vulnerable households; credible and transparent monetary policies for inflation pressure; and strategic investments in research and development of agriculture, transport and production infrastructure and market information systems for improvement of productivity and resistance.

What they said

FAO General Director, Qu Dongy: “While it is encouraging to se see a decrease in the global hunger rate, we must recognize that progress is uneven. Sofi 2025 serves as a critical remander that we needa intenSIFY EFFORTS TO ESURE THAT ENEYONE HAS Access to Suffici food.

IFAD President, Alvaro Lario: “At the time of growing food prices and disturbed global values, we need to enhance investments in rural and agricultural transformation. These investments are not only necessary to secure food and nutrition security – they are also critical for global stability.”

UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell: “Each child deserves a chance of growth and progress. However, over 190 million children under the age of 5 have been affected by subjugation, which can have negative consequences for their physical and mental development. It takes a chance to live to their full potential. The state of food and diet in the world can be underground, and in most luxurious needs for the world's needs The splendor for the need for gorgeous needs, as a need for what the families should work for in cooperation with the Government, the private sector and the community itself to ensure that vulnerable families have access to food that is accessible to the appropriate diet for children that include the strengthening of the social protection program and the teaching of parents on locally produced food for children, including the importance of breastfeeding.

WFP Executive Director, Cindy McCain: “Hunger remains at alarming levels, but the funds needed to solve this fall. Last year, WFP reached 124 million people who saved rescue foods. This year, a decrease in financing up to 40 percent means that tens of millions of people will lose the vital life we ​​provide. Although a small reduction that will be in line with that they have greeted the food in accordance with the justified stabbing. violating food in violating food in violation in foods that are in accordance with the violation of food in justifying the instability in the unstable regions of the world. “

WHO General Director, Dr. Tedros Adhan Ghebreyesus: “In recent years, the world has achieved good progress in reducing the downtime and supporting exclusive breastfeeding, but it can still be done much to alleviate millions of people from the burden of insecurity and malnutrition of food. This report provides encouraging news, but also shows where the disadvantages are and what they have lagged on and that we are in our work.

* *The point assessment is a value considered more likely among those involved in the range of possible values ​​with respect to the information on which the assessment is based.