Around 2.1 billion people globally experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025. Armed conflict, climate change, inflation, high food prices, trade disruptions and supply-chain shocks are the main drivers of hunger, says a new United Nations report.The report said while global food security and nutrition improved modestly in 2025, progress remains uneven and insufficient to meet the Sustainable Development 2030 targets.“Hunger affected 7.8 per cent of the world’s population, and 2.1 billion people experienced moderate or severe food insecurity — yet these figures also reflect meaningful gains, including the first signs of improvement in Africa since the adoption of the 2030 agenda. Persistent disparities remain, particularly for women, young children and rural communities, and diet quality continues to lag worldwide,” it said.The ‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026 (SOFI 2026)’ report also said healthy diets are unaffordable for about 2.7 billion people worldwide, with the crisis deepening particularly in Africa.This report reveals that the high prices of nutrient-dense items – specifically animal source foods, fruits and vegetables – account for nearly 70 per cent of the cost of a healthy diet.Asia, together with Latin America and the Caribbean, has recorded steady improvements in recent years. In contrast, Africa is now home to approximately 309 million hungry people, compared with 292 million in Asia.Although Africa’s previously rising trend is beginning to stabilise, with the share of its population facing hunger decreasing from 20.3 per cent in 2024 to 20.0 per cent in 2025, the continent now has the highest number of hungry people in absolute terms amid a rapidly growing population.“Among other parameters, anaemia among women remains high. Besides adult obesity continues to rise globally, showing the ‘double burden’ of malnutrition,” it said.The global body also warned that, despite recent improvements, the world is still not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) by 2030. Hundreds of millions of people are projected to remain chronically hungry unless food systems become more resilient and nutritious foods become more affordable, it said.The report recommended to lower the cost of nutritious foods, invest in climate-resilient agriculture, improve rural infrastructure and food supply chains, expand social protection and nutrition programme, support smallholder farmers, and promote healthier diets through better food policies.