The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2026 Report:
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) along with IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO officially released The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2026 report.
Key Findings in the Report:
- For the first time, Africa hosts the largest population facing hunger at 309 million people (20.0% rate), surpassing Asia’s 292 million people (6.0% rate).
- An estimated 2.69 billion people (32.7% globally) were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2025. In Africa, this figure rises to a staggering 66.6%.
- Animal-source foods, fruits, and vegetables account for nearly 70% of the total cost of a healthy diet, whereas starchy staples contribute only one-sixth of the total cost despite providing half the calories.
- Only 30.8% of children aged 6–23 months and 62.7% of women aged 15–49 years achieved minimum dietary diversity globally.
- Projections show that 510 to 520 million people will still face chronic hunger in 2030, with 56% of them residing in Africa.
- Anaemia among women aged 15–49 worsened to 30.7%, while global adult obesity steadily climbed from 12.1% (2012) to 16.2% (2024).
- Food insecurity remained consistently higher in rural areas (29.7%) compared to peri-urban (25.4%) and urban areas (22.3%).
India and Report Findings: - Southern Asia’s substantial decline in undernourishment (from 13.9% in 2021 down to 9.3% in 2025) and food insecurity was largely propelled by improvements in India.
- India plays a decisive role in the global affordability metrics; excluding India from the lower-middle-income group converts the regional trend of people unable to afford a healthy diet from a decrease to an increase.
- Aligned with broader Asian trends, India contributes to Southern Asia remaining on track to meet the 2030 global targets for child stunting reduction and halting child overweight.
- Similar to global trends where anaemia is worsening, India faces significant hurdles in meeting the 50% reduction target for anaemia among women of reproductive age.
- Case studies in the report emphasize that price fluctuations in non-staples like vegetables and fruits disproportionately drive up the daily cost of a healthy diet across South Asian markets.
SOFI report:
- The SOFI report is the UN system’s annual flagship assessment that tracks global, regional, and national progress toward ending hunger (SDG Target 2.1) and eliminating all forms of malnutrition (SDG Target 2.2).
- Theme-focused on Understanding and addressing the high cost of a healthy diet, the 2026 edition evaluates the cost drivers of Healthy Diet Baskets (HDB), tracks progress across global maternal and child nutrition targets.
