Campaigners fighting to reduce food insecurity across the planet have warned in a new report that certain regions must not be left behind as advances are made on other continents.
The 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) survey reveals a modest improvement in global hunger levels, with the share of people facing hunger declining from 8.5 percent in 2023 to 8.2 percent in 2024.
While Asia and Latin America show signs of progress, the report from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says hunger continues to worsen in Africa where 307 million people – equivalent to 20 percent of the population – experience problems getting food.
Projections indicate that by 2030, almost 60 percent of those at risk of chronic hunger will be in Africa.
“Recovery must be inclusive," said FAO chief Dongyu Qu. "We cannot accept a future where entire regions are left behind."
The FAO's report was launched in Addis Ababa as the Ethiopian and Italian governments co-hosted the UN 's Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) which was scheduled to finish on Tuesday.
The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Jane Mohammed, who was a keynote speaker at the UNFSS, said: “Knowledge is power. The SOFI report delivers sobering insights and the power to act.
"Overlapping crises, such as conflict, climate shocks, inflation and displacement are exposing the deep fragility of our food systems, meaning the message is clear: cooperation must replace conflict."
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'Famine thresholds reached'
Mohammed's comments came hours before a UN-backed body said on Tuesday that famine thresholds had been reached in most of Gaza as Israeli forces continued their conflict with Hamas fighters.
"The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza," the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said.
The umbrella group comprising charities, governments, UN agencies and NGOs to determine the severity of food insecurity worldwide, warned that widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease were driving deaths.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) claimed on Monday that malnutrition in the occupied Palestinian territory had reached alarming levels since Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on 2 March.
In late May, Israel began allowing a trickle of aid to resume. Last week more than 100 NGOs warned that mass starvation was spreading in the besieged territory.
The IPC said that the latest data indicated famine thresholds had been reached for food consumption in most of the enclave. However, it stopped short of a formal famine declaration.
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The SOFI report, jointly produced by the FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the UN's agencies for children and food as well as the WHO, says 90 million more people are facing hunger than in 2020 - and 100 million more than in 2015, when the Sustainable Development Goals were launched with the aim of eradicating hunger on Earth by 2030.
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Meanwhile, around 2.3 billion people experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2024.
“In the face of global disruptions, protectionist or inward-looking policies are counterproductive," Qu added.
"What we need is coordinated global action—based on shared responsibility, solidarity, and sound evidence.
"The path forward demands urgency, inclusiveness, and action.
“We must reach all communities – rural and urban, women and men, children and elders – with solutions that are timely, fair, and effective."
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'Action required on food insecurity'
On Monday, Mohamed told the UNFSS that not enough was being done to stop the problem of food insecurity.
"Food systems are still under pressure, there is an urgent need for transformation, and investments in food are still falling short of expectations," she said.
She added she was particularly concerned about the situation in Gaza and Sudan.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Fighting has left tenis of thousands dead and more than seven million people displaced.
"The UN has already spoken out several times on access to food for residents. For Gaza and Sudan, this is a matter of international humanitarian law, it's as basic as that," Mohammed added.
"The only thing we can do is continue to raise our voices and, in Sudan, to speak to leaders, with the commitment of the African Union (AU). Famine must not be the reason that pushes us towards peace."
UN chief Antonio Guterres told the summit via a video link that food must not be used as a weapon of war.
"Hunger fuels instability and undermines peace. Climate change is disrupting harvests, supply chains and humanitarian aid," he added.
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His concerns were echoed during an appeal for aid from Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, the chairperson of the AU Commission.
Acknowledging he was more generally concerned about the plight of Africans, Youssouf said: "At this crucial moment, how many children and mothers on the continent are sleeping hungry? Millions, certainly. The urgency of the situation is beyond doubt."
Youssouf urged AU member states to devote 10 percent of their gross domestic product to agriculture to help foster nutritional resilience.
"But we cannot do this alone," he added. "We call on our partners to honour their commitments to finance and support African solutions."
(with newswires)
