State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2025 Report

The United Nations’ flagship report, State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2025, assesses global progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger). The 2025 edition focuses on post-pandemic recovery, food affordability, and regional disparities, while projecting the hunger landscape up to 2030.

Key Findings:

• Chronic Hunger:
  • In 2024, 8.2% of the global population—about 720 million people—were chronically hungry. Hunger levels remain above pre-pandemic benchmarks.
• Undernourishment Forecast:
  • Only a 65 million reduction in undernourished people is projected by 2030, making the SDG-2 goal unachievable at the current pace.
• Diet Affordability Crisis:
  • Over 3 billion people globally cannot afford a healthy diet, leading to increased dependence on calorie-rich, nutrient-poor foods.
• Regional Disparities:
  • Africa faces the highest undernourishment rate (>20%), while Asia hosts nearly half the global food-insecure population. Southeast Asia and South America have shown marginal improvement due to targeted reforms.
• Climate and Conflict Impact:
  • War, drought, floods, and other climate shocks have become key drivers of food insecurity since 2020.
• Post-COVID Setback:
  • The pandemic reversed a decade of gains, leaving 96 million more people hungry than in 2015.

India-Specific Insights

• Nutritional Inaccessibility:
  • About 6% of India’s population is unable to afford a nutritious diet, despite the country having surplus food grain stocks.
• Rural–Urban Divide:
  • Urban areas are witnessing recovery due to income rebound, but rural regions suffer due to inefficiencies in the public distribution system and high price volatility.
• Child Malnutrition:
  • India continues to report high levels of child stunting and wasting, pointing to failures in early-age nutrition.
• Micronutrient Deficiencies:
  • A cereal-dominant diet with low fruit, vegetable, and protein intake leads to widespread hidden hunger.
• Need for Policy Shift:
  • Experts recommend including millets, pulses, and fortified foods in government schemes to ensure diet diversity and combat undernutrition.

Positive Developments

• Decline in global hunger from 8.7% in 2022 to 8.2% in 2024.
• Regional improvements seen in Southeast Asia and Latin America, driven by social protection and agricultural reforms.
• Improved coordination among UN agencies and adoption of data-driven hunger tracking systems.

Key Concerns

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• The pace of progress remains too slow to meet the 2030 zero hunger goal.
• Hunger is increasingly concentrated in Africa, projected to account for 60% of the global undernourished by 2030.
• Rising food prices are disproportionately affecting low-income populations.
• Despite global food surplus, fair distribution remains a critical issue.

Way Forward

1. Nutrition-Centric PDS: Expand India’s food subsidy programs to include millets, pulses, and locally grown nutrient-rich foods.
2. Diversify Agriculture: Promote crops beyond rice and wheat to improve dietary balance and nutritional intake.
3. Resilient Food Systems: Invest in climate-resilient and regionally adapted agricultural practices to reduce disaster-driven hunger.
4. Strengthen Global Support: Intensify international cooperation to support vulnerable regions, particularly in Africa and South Asia.
5. Affordability Reform: Align food pricing with income growth through minimum wage policies, better inflation management, and streamlined food supply chains.