A healthy and balanced diet continues to remain beyond the financial reach of nearly one in every three people across the world, even as global hunger levels have shown a modest decline for the third consecutive year, according to a new report released by the United Nations. The findings underline that while progress has been made in reducing hunger, affordability of nutritious food continues to pose a major challenge, threatening efforts to eliminate hunger and malnutrition by the end of this decade.
The report, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026, prepared jointly by five UN agencies, estimates that about 2.69 billion people were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2025. Although this marks an improvement compared to previous years, experts cautioned that the pace of progress remains insufficient to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030.
According to the report, the proportion of the world’s population suffering from hunger declined to 7.8 per cent in 2025, reflecting gradual recovery after years of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, climate-related disasters and economic instability. However, the decline in hunger has not translated into equal access to nutritious food, with billions of people still unable to consume diets that include adequate quantities of fruits, vegetables, dairy products and other nutrient-rich foods.
The UN agencies observed that the average cost of a healthy diet has climbed to around 4.28 purchasing power parity (PPP) dollars per person per day, placing it well above the international extreme poverty threshold of three dollars a day. As a result, many low-income families continue to rely on cheaper staple foods that provide sufficient calories but fall short of meeting nutritional requirements, increasing the risk of malnutrition as well as obesity and diet-related diseases.
Africa remains the region facing the greatest challenge, with nearly two-thirds of its population unable to afford a healthy diet. The report noted that the continent has now overtaken Asia in terms of the total number of people experiencing hunger, largely due to rapid population growth. Although the percentage of hungry people has declined slightly, the absolute number continues to rise, highlighting the need for greater investment in agriculture, infrastructure and food systems across the region.
The report also pointed to the growing burden of obesity and non-communicable diseases linked to unhealthy eating patterns. Governments in many countries have historically subsidised inexpensive staple crops while providing limited support for nutrient-dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products and pulses. This imbalance has made healthier food options relatively more expensive and less accessible, particularly for poorer households. Global obesity rates have consequently increased from 12.1 per cent in 2012 to 16.2 per cent in 2024, underscoring the dual challenge of undernutrition and overnutrition.
Experts associated with the report called for urgent policy measures to make healthy diets more affordable. Recommended interventions include increasing public investment in agricultural research, strengthening food supply chains, improving transport and storage infrastructure, reducing food losses, supporting small-scale farmers and encouraging production of diverse, nutrient-rich crops. They also stressed the importance of redesigning food policies so that healthier foods become more affordable and accessible to consumers.
The findings also reveal encouraging signs in some countries, where improvements in incomes and targeted food policies have reduced the number of people unable to afford nutritious diets. Nevertheless, the UN agencies warned that persistent inflation, climate change, conflicts and economic uncertainty continue to threaten food security worldwide. They emphasised that sustained international cooperation and long-term investment will be essential to ensure that healthy food is accessible to everyone, regardless of income or geography, and to keep the world on track towards ending hunger by 2030.
