A report by five UN agencies indicates that 2.69 billion people cannot afford a varied diet that meets their nutritional needs. Food affordability is described as an urgent issue that requires immediate attention, otherwise the global goal of zero hunger by 2030 will not be met.
The report, referenced by The Guardian, indicates that world hunger has fallen to 7.8% of the population in 2025, but the lack of access to healthy food remains a serious concern. For example, in Africa, 66.6% of the population cannot afford a balanced diet, this being the highest percentage globally.
The rise in obesity is also highlighted, with figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicating an increase from 12.1% to 16.2% among adults in just ten years. Lack of dietary diversity contributes to health problems such as diabetes and cancer.
Suggested solutions
Máximo Torero, FAO chief economist, emphasizes the need to invest in infrastructure and development to improve the food supply chain. Reforms in public policies are necessary to promote the consumption of fruits and vegetables, in addition to diversifying the diet.
The report, titled “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026,” warns that the increase in the cost of a healthy diet exceeds the extreme poverty line, increasing the risk of food crises in the future. Geopolitical conditions, especially in the Middle East, could also impact global food security.
It estimates that the cost of a healthy diet is $4.28 per day in purchasing power parity (PPP). Which means that, in any country, a healthy diet costs the amount of local currency with the same purchasing power as $4.28 in the United States.
“The extreme poverty threshold is $3 per person,” says Torero. “So it is significantly higher,” reports The Guardian.
Unsuitable diet
The economist warns that government policies had typically focused on subsidizing grains and starchy staple foods, rather than meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables.
“That means calories, but not dietary diversity,” he highlighted, which has a high impact on obesity rates and diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
In conclusion, the report highlights the urgent need to take action to address the food crisis and improve the affordability and availability of healthy foods globally.
Most vulnerable groups
The food crisis hits those already living in poverty, conflict, displacement or climate fragility hardest, and its effects are not the same in all regions. In Africa and West Asia, where hunger continues to rise, vulnerable households often face increased meal skipping, child malnutrition, and dependency on humanitarian aid.
Africa and Western Asia. In Africa, the proportion of the population facing hunger exceeded 20% in 2024, with some 307 million people affected, while in Western Asia the figure reached 12.7%, more than 39 million. In these areas, conflict, violence and economic collapse exacerbate the lack of access to food, and children are especially vulnerable due to the increased risk of illness and death associated with malnutrition.
Latin America and Asia. In South Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean there have been recent improvements, with less undernourishment than in previous years. Even so, the crisis continues to affect low-income households the most, because food inflation makes a healthy diet more expensive and forces them to prioritize quantity over nutritional quality. This especially harms young children, pregnant women and people with informal jobs, who have less room to absorb price increases.
Most exposed groups
Concrete effects. The food crisis not only reduces available calories; It also deteriorates health, learning and social stability. Affected households often sell assets, go into debt, or cut back on medical care to buy food, widening poverty and making it harder to recover. In the long term, childhood malnutrition limits physical and cognitive development, maintaining the cycle of vulnerability between generations.
Regional differences. The crisis takes different forms depending on the region: in conflict zones, the interruption of access and violence weighs more, while in areas exposed to the climate, droughts, floods and crop loss dominate. Where inflation is high, even those who are not extremely hungry can be left without a healthy diet, especially in low-income countries. Therefore, the real impact depends both on the region and on the level of social protection and humanitarian aid available. A simple way to look at it is this: in a country with war, the problem is usually “I can't get food”; In a country with high inflation, many families go to “yes there is food, but I can't afford an adequate diet.”
