As Nigerians experience a severe hunger crisis, the United Nations (UN) and its affiliated organizations, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Programme (WFP), and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), have reported that 73 million people in Africa and other parts of the world faced hunger in 2023. This alarming revelation was part of a report titled “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI)” released jointly by these five UN agencies.
The SOFI report indicates that while there have been some improvements in areas such as stunting and exclusive breastfeeding, a staggering number of people still suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition. Global hunger levels have plateaued over the past three years, with between 713 and 757 million people undernourished in 2023. This figure represents approximately 152 million more people than in 2019 when considering the mid-range estimate of 733 million.
The report highlights significant regional disparities in hunger trends. In Africa, the percentage of the population experiencing hunger continues to rise, reaching 20.4 percent. Asia, though stable at 8.1 percent, still faces significant challenges as it is home to more than half of the world’s hungry population. Latin America has shown some progress, with hunger rates at 6.2 percent. However, from 2022 to 2023, hunger increased in Western Asia, the Caribbean, and most African subregions.
The five UN agencies warn that if current trends continue, about 582 million people will be chronically undernourished by 2030, with half of them in Africa. They stated, “This projection closely resembles the levels seen in 2015 when the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted, marking a concerning stagnation in progress.”
Beyond hunger, the report reveals that access to adequate food remains elusive for billions of people. In 2023, around 2.33 billion people globally faced moderate or severe food insecurity, a number that has remained relatively unchanged since the sharp increase in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of these, over 864 million people experienced severe food insecurity, meaning they went without food for an entire day or more. This number has remained stubbornly high since 2020, with broader challenges persisting, especially in Africa where 58 percent of the population is moderately or severely food insecure.
Economic access to healthy diets is another critical issue, affecting over one-third of the global population. The publication notes that over 2.8 billion people were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2022, a disparity most pronounced in low-income countries where 71.5 percent of the population cannot afford a healthy diet compared to 6.3 percent in high-income countries. Notably, this number has dropped below pre-pandemic levels in Asia and in Northern America and Europe, while it has increased substantially in Africa.
In terms of nutritional targets, while there has been progress in increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates among infants to 48 percent, achieving global nutrition targets remains a challenge. The prevalence of low birth weight has stagnated around 15 percent, and stunting among children under five, although declining to 22.3 percent, still falls short of achieving targets. Additionally, the prevalence of wasting among children has not seen significant improvement, and anemia in women aged 15 to 49 years has increased.
Similarly, new estimates of adult obesity show a steady increase over the last decade, from 12.1 percent in 2012 to 15.8 percent in 2022. Projections indicate that by 2030, the world will have more than 1.2 billion obese adults. The double burden of malnutrition – the coexistence of undernutrition along with overweight and obesity – has surged globally across all age groups. While thinness and underweight have declined in the last two decades, obesity has risen sharply.
These trends highlight the complex challenges of malnutrition in all its forms and the urgent need for targeted interventions, as the world is not on track to meet any of the seven global nutrition targets by 2030, according to the five agencies.
Food insecurity and malnutrition are being exacerbated by a combination of factors, including persistent food price inflation that continues to erode economic gains for many people. Major drivers like conflict, climate change, and economic downturns are becoming more frequent and severe. These issues, along with underlying factors such as unaffordable healthy diets, unhealthy food environments, and persistent inequality, are now coinciding simultaneously, amplifying their individual effects.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu emphasized the need for transforming agrifood systems, saying, “Transforming agrifood systems is more critical than ever as we face the urgency of achieving the SDGs within six short years. FAO remains committed to supporting countries in their efforts to eradicate hunger and ensure food security for all. We will work together with all partners and with all approaches, including the G20 Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, to accelerate the needed change. Together, we must innovate and collaborate to build more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems that can better withstand future challenges for a better world.”
IFAD President Alvaro Lario pointed out the importance of investments in agriculture in rural areas as the fastest route out of hunger and poverty. He said, “The fastest route out of hunger and poverty is proven to be through investments in agriculture in rural areas. But the global and financial landscape has become far more complex since the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted in 2015. Ending hunger and malnutrition demands that we invest more – and more smartly. We must bring new money into the system from the private sector and recapture the pandemic-era appetite for ambitious global financial reform that gets cheaper financing to the countries who need it most.”
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell highlighted the impact of malnutrition on children, stating, “Malnutrition affects a child’s survival, physical growth, and brain development. Global child stunting rates have dropped by one third, or 55 million, in the last two decades, showing that investments in maternal and child nutrition pay off. Yet globally, one in four children under the age of five suffers from undernutrition, which can lead to long-term damage. We must urgently step-up financing to end child malnutrition. The world can and must do it. It is not only a moral imperative but also a sound investment in the future.”
WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain called for rallying resources and political will to end hunger, saying, “A future free from hunger is possible if we can rally the resources and the political will needed to invest in proven long-term solutions. I call on G20 leaders to follow Brazil’s example and prioritize ambitious global action on hunger and poverty. We have the technologies and know-how to end food insecurity – but we urgently need the funds to invest in them at scale. WFP is ready to step up our collaboration with governments and partners to tackle the root causes of hunger, strengthen social safety nets, and support sustainable development so every family can live in dignity.”
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized the progress made and the need for continued efforts, stating, “The progress we have made on reducing stunting and improving exclusive breastfeeding shows that the challenges we face are not insurmountable. We must use those gains as motivation to alleviate the suffering that millions of people around the world endure every day from hunger, food insecurity, unhealthy diets, and malnutrition. The substantial investment required in healthy, safe, and sustainably produced food is far less than the costs to economies and societies if we do nothing.”
The annual report, launched in 2024 during the G20 Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty Task Force Ministerial Meeting in Brazil, warns that the world is significantly falling short of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2, Zero Hunger, by 2030. The report indicates, “The world has been set back 15 years, with levels of undernourishment comparable to those in 2008-2009.”
The SOFI report underscores the urgent need for global action to address hunger and malnutrition. With millions of people facing food insecurity and malnutrition, the world must prioritize investments in sustainable and resilient agrifood systems, along with targeted interventions to ensure that everyone has access to adequate and nutritious food. The future of millions depends on the collective efforts of governments, international organizations, and the private sector to tackle these pressing challenges and build a more food-secure world.
