SYLLABUS

GS-2: Issues relating to poverty and hunger. 

Context: The United Nations released The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2026 report, highlighting modest global progress in reducing hunger while warning that the world remains off track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: Zero Hunger by 2030.

About the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 

• It is the United Nations system's flagship annual report on global hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. 

• It is jointly published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO). 

• The report tracks global and regional progress towards SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), assesses hunger, food insecurity, diet quality and nutrition indicators, and provides evidence-based policy recommendations for governments and development partners. 

• Theme of SOFI 2026: The rising cost of healthy diets, the structural and economic factors driving these costs, and policy measures to make nutritious food more affordable and accessible.

Global Key Findings of the Report

• Hunger declined for the third consecutive year: An estimated 645 million people (7.8% of the global population) faced hunger in 2025. 

• This represents nearly 14 million fewer people than in 2024 and 43 million fewer than at the 2022 peak. 
• However, the number remains 61 million higher than in 2019 (pre-COVID-19). 

• World remains off track to achieve SDG 2 (Zero Hunger): The world remains off track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: Zero Hunger by 2030. 

• Around 520 million people could still face hunger by 2030. 

• Food insecurity improved: Approximately 2.1 billion people experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025. 

• This was nearly 86 million fewer people than in 2024. 
• The largest gains were recorded in South America and Asia, particularly Southern Asia. 

• Africa became the global hunger epicentre: Africa overtook Asia as the region with the largest number of hungry people for the first time. 

• Hunger affected 309 million people in Africa and 292 million people in Asia in 2025. 
• Africa's hunger rate stood at 20%, compared with 6% in Asia. 
• Africa recorded the first interruption of the continent's upward hunger trend since 2017, with the prevalence of hunger declining from 20.3% in 2024 to 20.0% in 2025. 

• Healthy diets remain unaffordable: Nearly one-third of the world's population remained unable to afford a healthy diet. 

• This exposes millions to malnutrition and diet-related non-communicable diseases.

India's Key Findings of the Report

• Undernourishment declined significantly: The prevalence of undernourishment declined from 21.1% (2004–06) to 9.8% (2023–25). 

• The number of undernourished people declined from 243.9 million to 142.5 million, a reduction of about 101 million people. 

• Healthy diets remain unaffordable: Around 520.1 million people (35.5% of the population) were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2025. 

• This share declined from 59.8% in 2017, but more than one in three Indians still cannot regularly afford a nutritionally adequate diet. 

• Cost of healthy diets increased: The cost of a healthy diet in India has increased by nearly 48% since 2017. 

• In 2025, a healthy diet cost PPP $4.11 per person per day. 
• India had the second-lowest cost of a healthy diet in South Asia after Pakistan. 

• India drove improvement among lower-middle-income countries: The decline in the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet among lower-middle-income countries was driven mainly by India. 

• The report states that if India is excluded from the group, the estimates show an increasing trend. 

• Child nutrition improved but challenges remain: Stunting among children under five declined from 41.7% in 2012 to 32.9% in 2024. 

• Wasting stood at 18.7% in 2024, remaining among the higher rates globally. 
• Overweight among children under five increased from 2.1% to 3.7% over the same period. 

• Adult nutrition concerns: Obesity among the adult population has doubled. 

• Anaemia among women aged 15–49 years increased from 50.1% to 53.7%.