- link Copy URL - [ Share on X ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Action Against Hunger Statement in Response to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/1317466?absolute=1&via=3blnews "Share on X") - [ Share on linkedin ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/1317466?absolute=1 "Share on Linkedin") - [ Share on facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/1317466?absolute=1 "Share on Facebook") - [ email Share via email ](mailto:?subject=Action Against Hunger Statement in Response to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report&body=ESG News from Action Against Hunger https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/1317466?absolute=1 "Share via email") [Philanthropy](/categories/philanthropy) # Action Against Hunger Statement in Response to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report ##### Experts available as global hunger "report card" shows Africa now the epicentre of world hunger Jul 21, 2026 8:00 AM ET Campaign: [ Advocacy ](/news/campaign/advocacy) NEW YORK, July 21, 2026 /3BL/ - The [2026 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI)](https://www.fao.org/publications/fao-flagship-publications/the-state-of-food-security-and-nutrition-in-the-world/en) report was released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and UNICEF. The report is the leading annual benchmark on global hunger, food access, and the affordability of healthy diets. Rotimy Djossaya, Chief Impact Officer with Action Against Hunger, available for interviews to discuss the findings. The 2026 SOFI report, “Understanding and Addressing the High Costs of a Healthy Diet,” puts global hunger at 645 million people, 7.8% of the world’s population. This is a decrease of just [14 million from 2025’s estimate of 720 million](https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/4b1f7d26-267d-4a81-aed4-4f9de4d93f85). That decline is concentrated in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia; it does not reflect what is happening in Africa, where 309 million people, or 1 in 5, are hungry and 66.6% cannot afford a healthy diet. Without a sharp course correction, which includes reversing aid cuts, addressing conflict, and investing in climate-resilient food systems, the modest gains recorded elsewhere will not hold, and Africa’s trajectory will continue to worsen. This year’s report also lands amid a prolonged funding crisis for humanitarian nutrition programs. In early 2025, [the United States terminated roughly 90% of its foreign aid contracts](https://apnews.com/article/trump-usaid-foreign-aid-cuts-6292f48f8d4025bed0bf5c3e9d623c16), including $1.4 billion in emergency nutrition funding, and the effects are still unfolding. [More than 13 million children](https://www.wfp.org/news/humanitarian-aid-cuts-push-millions-deeper-hunger-amid-rising-violence-and-population) across West and Central Africa alone are projected to suffer from malnutrition in 2026 as aid cuts push millions deeper into hunger. Supply chains for treatments like ready-to-use therapeutic food remain disrupted, and the[ closure of the Strait of Hormuz](https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/strait-of-hormuz-conflict-threatens-global-food-prices-as-fao-warns-time-is-running-out/en) continues to push up global food prices, adding further risk for children already on the edge. **Key findings:** - For the first time on record, Africa has more hungry people than Asia: 309 million, or 1 in 5 people, compared with 292 million (6%) in Asia. Latin America and the Caribbean stand at 4.8% (32 million); Oceania at 8% (3.7 million). - Africa’s hunger population has nearly doubled since 2010, from 171 million to 309 million in 2025, driven by conflict, displacement, climate shocks, and economic instability in countries including Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Nigeria. - Nearly one in three people worldwide (32.7%) cannot afford a healthy diet. In Africa, that figure is two in three (66.6%) – more than double the rate in Asia (28.9%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (25.7%). - Official Development Assistance from DAC donor countries fell 23.1% in 2025 compared with 2024. Action Against Hunger was forced to close more than 50 projects across 20 countries as a result, cutting services to hundreds of thousands of people, most of them in Africa. In Madagascar, the organization closed 3 of its 5 sub-bases and 10 mobile clinics stopped operating, affecting treatment for over 5,000 children with acute malnutrition. In Burkina Faso, 6 of 8 bases closed between 2025 and 2026. “When 645 million people are hungry, that’s cause for concern. Perhaps even more alarming is the fact that this figure doesn’t yet count the ways that rising inflation, current conflicts, El Niño and other climate shocks are making hunger even worse,” said Rotimy Djossaya, Chief Impact Officer for Action Against Hunger USA. \*\*\* [Action Against Hunger](https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/) leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 26.5 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across over 55 countries, our 8,500+ dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good. *Spokesperson available.* *CONTACT:* *Kara Green* *kgreen@actionagainsthunger.org* [![Action Against Hunger logo](/sites/default/files/2023-08/Color%20Logo%20-%20PNG%20File.png)](/profiles/action-against-hunger) ### More from Action Against Hunger ###### [Super El Niño 2026: Food and Nutrition Crises on the Horizon, According to Action Against Hunger](/news/super-el-nino-2026-food-and-nutrition-crises-horizon-according-action-against-hunger) Jul 17, 2026 8:15 AM ET ###### [Action Against Hunger and the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) Launch Landmark ECHO-Funded Initiative to Build Anticipatory Action Systems Across the Horn of Africa ](/news/action-against-hunger-and-igad-climate-prediction-and-applications-centre-icpac-launch) Jul 10, 2026 9:00 AM ET ###### [Action Against Hunger and CMA CMG Foundation Wins Fast Company’s 2026 World Changing Ideas Award](/news/action-against-hunger-and-cma-cmg-foundation-wins-fast-companys-2026-world-changing-ideas) Jul 7, 2026 8:00 AM ET ###### [Action Against Hunger Condemns Deadly Attack on Aid Convoy Carrying Partner Personnel in South Sudan; Demands Safety for Humanitarian Workers ](/news/action-against-hunger-condemns-deadly-attack-aid-convoy-carrying-partner-personnel-south-sudan) Jul 1, 2026 1:00 PM ET ###### [Twenty Years On, the Killing of 17 Humanitarian Workers Remains Unpunished: Action Against Hunger Calls for a New Investigation](/news/twenty-years-killing-17-humanitarian-workers-remains-unpunished-action-against-hunger-calls) Jun 15, 2026 10:55 AM ET ###### [A Father’s Hope Renewed Through Lifesaving Nutrition Support ](/news/fathers-hope-renewed-through-lifesaving-nutrition-support) Jun 12, 2026 9:00 AM ET ###### [Action Against Hunger Activates Emergency Response Fund for Ebola Prevention in Uganda](/news/action-against-hunger-activates-emergency-response-fund-ebola-prevention-uganda) Jun 11, 2026 9:01 AM ET ###### [Action Against Hunger to Screen Award-Winning Films at "Nourishing Hope" Evening, Featuring Director Arielle Knight and New York Premiere of With Grace](/news/action-against-hunger-screen-award-winning-films-nourishing-hope-evening-featuring-director) Jun 5, 2026 12:15 PM ET