Africa Now Home to 46% of the World’s Hungry as UN Warns Crisis Could Worsen by 2030
By SpringnewsNG Media Limited | July 29, 2025
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Africa is now home to nearly half of the world’s chronically hungry people, according to a new United Nations report, with food insecurity intensifying despite global hunger declining slightly for the third consecutive year.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2025 report, jointly released by five UN agencies, revealed that 307 million Africans went hungry in 2024. That represents 46% of the world’s 673 million hungry people, and more than one in five Africans is facing chronic food insecurity.
Experts warn that if current trends persist, Africa could account for 60% of the world’s hungry by 2030, raising alarms about a deepening humanitarian and development crisis.
Conflict, Climate, and Economic Strain Drive Hunger
According to Maximo Torero, Chief Economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Africa’s hunger crisis is being driven by armed conflict, climate shocks, inflation, and slow agricultural productivity that lags behind rapid population growth.
“If conflict continues to grow and debt stress increases, the numbers will increase again,” Torero said at the ongoing UN Food Systems Summit in Ethiopia.
UN Secretary‑General António Guterres, in a video address to the summit, emphasized that conflict remains the primary driver of hunger, from Gaza to Sudan and beyond, and warned that food insecurity itself fuels political instability and further crises.
Global Hunger Sees Minor Relief — But Africa Backslides
While Africa’s situation worsens, other regions saw improvements:
- South America: Hunger dropped to 3.8% in 2024, down from 4.2%, due to social programmes and improved farming
- Southern Asia: Fell to 11% from 12.2%, aided by better diet access in India
The global hunger rate declined slightly to 8.2% in 2024, compared to 8.5% in 2023, but remains higher than pre‑pandemic levels.
Africa at Risk of Becoming Hunger Epicenter by 2030
The UN report paints a grim forecast: if wars persist, climate impacts worsen, and economic recovery stalls, Africa could soon become the epicenter of global hunger, hosting six out of every 10 hungry people worldwide.
Development experts are urging governments and international donors to prioritize:
- Agricultural investment and innovation
- Climate‑resilient food systems
- Debt relief and humanitarian aid
- Conflict resolution to restore farming activity in war‑torn regions
The UN concluded that addressing Africa’s food crisis is essential to global stability, warning that inaction will exacerbate poverty, migration pressures, and regional conflicts.
