Strides in combating food insecurity - not uniformly across all regions
In a recent development, the World Food Report has indicated progress in the global fight against hunger. However, the 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, as referenced by dpa, paints a different picture for two specific regions — Africa and Western Asia.
Despite overall improvement, hunger is on the rise in these regions. The report estimates that 20% of Africa's population and 12.7% of people in Western Asia face hunger, marking a steady increase in these regions. On the contrary, Latin America and Asia are showing signs of improvement.
The key context behind the increase in hunger levels is persistent food price inflation, which disproportionately impacts low-income countries, particularly in Africa. With many households spending a large share of their income on food, rising food prices erode purchasing power and force difficult trade-offs, exacerbating food insecurity.
For instance, in Zambia, over 48% of households now experience moderate to severe food insecurity due to economic fragility combined with rising food costs, not only agricultural shortages.
Therefore, despite some progress globally, hunger is primarily increasing in Africa and Western Asia due to economic challenges like inflation that limit access to adequate and nutritious food. This trend underscores widening inequalities and highlights the complexity of achieving zero hunger by 2030.
In contrast to some global progress, other regions such as Africa and Western Asia are experiencing an unsettling increase in hunger rates. This increase can be primarily attributed to economic challenges like food price inflation, which impact the health-and-wellness sector, particularly nutrition, in these regions.
