SOFI 2026: Global hunger eases but healthy diet costs stall women’s and children’s nutrition

Updated global hunger rates are showing gradual improvement, yet dietary diversity remains inadequate for women and children, for whom nutrition progress is too slow and reversing in some areas, according to the 2026 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI). 

Nutrition Insight speaks with Action Against Hunger to learn about the report findings, what actions are now required, and how the private sector can participate in global efforts toward zero hunger.

According to the non-profit’s chief impact officer, Rotimy Djossaya, the private food, ingredient, and supplement sector is interested in preventing and managing systemic shocks to build a healthy workforce and expand markets.

“To strengthen food systems, businesses can play a critical role in terms of capital, technology, expertise, and infrastructure. Companies can engage their employees in skills-based volunteering and fundraising and use their voice to spotlight hunger as a pressing global issue to create more innovative, scalable, and sustainable solutions.”

“Studies have found that a majority of Americans, including 42% of Republicans, say companies should play a larger role in addressing social issues like malnutrition.”

SOFI’s key findings

Between 608 and 696 million people globally faced hunger last year, the report finds. This is a decrease of only 14 million from 2025’s estimate of 720 million, leaving 645 million hungry. Djossaya points out that this figure has not factored in the impacts of rising inflation, current conflicts, El Niño, and other climate shocks.

To strengthen food systems, Djossaya says businesses can play a critical role in terms of capital, technology, expertise, and infrastructure.Additionally, Africa, for the first time, ranked the highest region for people facing hunger, reaching 309 million in 2025. 

Also, progress toward the 2030 global nutrition targets was found to be highly uneven across regions. Child stunting rates in Africa fell, for instance, while Asia is expected to reach the 2030 target. Meanwhile, the report flags widening gaps across regions in projected and target prevalence for anemia in women aged 15 to 49 years.

Obesity rates were found to be steadily increasing from 12.1% in 2012 to 16.2% in 2024, which contradicts the target of disrupting this trend by 2025. Childhood obesity is reported to have sharply risen in Oceania. 

High cost of health

The report underscores that the costs of healthy diets vary across locations and seasons. Globally, the affordability of a healthy diet rose, except in Africa, where it was out of reach for 66.6% of the population last year. Concurrently, costs of healthy diets were noted to rise globally from 3.44 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) dollars in 2021 to 4.28 PPP dollars in 2025.

“Globally, one in three people cannot afford a healthy diet, and food prices keep climbing. This, in practice, means instead of eating a balanced basket of diverse food groups, families eat the same single meal — such as maize porridge or plain rice — day after day. This lack of diversity directly leads to chronic stunting and wasting in children under five,” says Djossaya.

Africa, for the first time, ranked the highest region for people facing hunger, reaching 309 million in 2025.“The high cost of a healthy diet forces families into sacrificing nutrition for basic caloric survival. The world produces enough food for everyone, so hunger isn’t just an issue of food; it’s an affordability crisis. Healthy food is priced out of reach. It’s an issue of priorities. Everyone has the right to a life free from hunger. Building a food system that works for people and the planet is the surest path to lasting food security.”

Real-world impact

US aid cuts and other budget reductions have hit emergency nutrition funding hard, while food prices and conflicts keep rising.

“We’re particularly concerned about places where inadequate funding converges with conflict, climate shocks, and inflation,” shares Djossaya. “Examples include Haiti and Somalia, and Sudan and South Sudan, which are a growing regional crisis and a clear example of the impact of a lack of funding for hunger prevention and treatment for malnutrition.”

“Over the past year, more than 100 health facilities have closed or reduced services as a result of funding cuts. Action Against Hunger has been forced to cut our own staffing by over 60% and scale back more than 40% of our nutrition sites.”

Approximately 86 million fewer people experienced food insecurity in 2025 compared to 2024.On the ground, some mothers are traveling six to 10 hours to find help for their children, she adds. This scenario is worsened by the Ebola outbreak in the region, where the health system does not have much capacity to respond to additional crises.

Reversing the trajectories

Last year, 2.1 billion people (25.8%) of the global population were moderately or severely food insecure — lower than the 28.7% in 2020, the SOFI report reveals. Approximately 86 million fewer people experienced food insecurity in 2025 compared to 2024.

Additionally, the report finds hunger affected 7.8% of the global population in 2025, down from 8.1% in 2024 and 8.6% in 2022. Although Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean showed steady progress, the ongoing upward trend in hunger in Africa has come to a halt.

Given current trajectories, Djossaya states that the goal to end hunger is off track. “But it is not impossible if we shift from emergency reaction to sustainable funding. Malnutrition is entirely predictable and treatable, provided there is political will and decentralized supply chains.”

The report was released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the WHO, the World Food Programme, the International Fund for Agricultural Development , and UNICEF.

Last year’s report revealed that undernourishment in Brazil dropped to below 2.5%, taking it off the FAO Hunger Map. It also showed that although fewer people experienced hunger in 2024 than in the years before, progress was not consistent globally.

We previously spoke with Action Against Hunger about how persistent inflation is shaping people’s diets globally, driving up the cost of nutritionally dense foods.