[REVISION HISTORY]

Global food security and hunger trends

Updated 12 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-10-18 00:58 UTC → 2026-10-19 07:34 UTC · added ~~removed~~

A United Nations report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026 noted that approximately 645 million people experienced hunger in 2025, marking a decrease of nearly 14 million from the prior year. This represents a third consecutive year of decline in global hunger, though levels remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic figures. For the first time in ten years, hunger levels in Africa also declined, though significant regional disparities remain, particularly in rural communities where food insecurity disproportionately affects women. Africa remains the most affected region with an estimated 309 million undernourished people, followed by Asia with 292 million. ~~Oleg Kobyakov, Head of the Office of Relations with the Russian Federation, noted that while the situation is improving slowly, the trend remains stable. Data from the Food~~ To address these challenges, experts emphasize boosting agricultural productivity on existing farmland through sustainable methods to avoid deforestation. Key priorities include investing in rural infrastructure—such as electricity, roads, and ~~Agriculture Organization (FAO) Global Information~~ refrigerated transportation—and addressing soil degradation. Farmland conservation is also being integrated into Environmental, Social, and ~~Early Warning System~~ Governance (ESG) frameworks to manage impacts on ~~Food~~ biodiversity and Agriculture (GIEWS) indicates that 41 countries currently require external food assistance, with 31 of those located in Africa. However, recent data from the World Hunger Index (WHI) suggests a negative trend reversal after nearly two decades of progress. The global WHI value rose to 18.1 points in 2026, up from 17.6 in 2018, marking the first increase in soil health. Despite the ~~index since data collection began~~ decline in ~~2000. This rise reflects worsening~~ hunger ~~in 32 countries. In Sub-Saharan Africa specifically, the index rose~~ rates from ~~26.9 to 27.5. The index classifies hunger as ‘very serious’~~ 8.6% in ~~eight nations, including Burundi, Chad,~~ 2022, the ~~Democratic Republic~~ total number of people suffering from hunger remains roughly 61 million higher than 2019 levels. Additionally, the ~~Congo, Madagascar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan,~~ Food and ~~Yemen. Action Against Hunger reported~~ Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that ~~in 2025, approximately 266 million people across 47 countries faced high acute~~ food ~~insecurity, driven by armed conflict, extreme weather, and~~ prices may face significant upward pressure through 2027. FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero noted that rising ~~prices. The crisis is intensified by conflict; 65 armed conflicts were recorded~~ energy and transportation costs, disrupted trade routes, and adverse weather conditions like El Niño create risks for food supply. These factors, including grain shipment disruptions in ~~2025,~~ the ~~highest number since World War II, with human-made famines reported~~ Black Sea and fertilizer supply issues, could accelerate price increases for staples like rice, bread, and sugar, particularly impacting low-income households in ~~Gaza~~ Asia, the Middle East, and ~~Sudan.~~ North Africa.

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