UN report finds 309 million Africans hungry in 2025 as global famine eases

The United Nations' State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026 report shows that global hunger fell for the third consecutive year in 2025, dropping to 645 million people. However, the continent of Africa remains the hardest hit, with an estimated 309 million people undernourished – the highest number of any region – and 66.6 % of its population lacking access to a healthy diet. The report warns that conflict, extreme weather events and reductions in development aid could jeopardise further progress, projecting that 510‑520 million people may still be hungry by 2030.

At a high‑level meeting in Rome, Senegal’s minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock, Dr Cheikhou Oumar Ba, used the findings to reaffirm the country’s food‑sovereignty agenda. He outlined a ten‑year national strategy aimed at reducing import dependence, expanding irrigation, strengthening horticultural value chains, cutting post‑harvest losses and promoting local cereals such as millet, sorghum and fonio. Ba also called for deeper West African regional integration to stabilise food prices and improve market access.

The UN agencies involved – FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO – highlighted that more than two‑billion people worldwide faced moderate or severe food‑insecurity in 2025, underscoring the urgency of investment in agricultural infrastructure, cold‑chain logistics and research to build resilient food systems.