Global hunger deepens amidst uncertain funding
18/11/2025: The world is facing a global hunger crisis with inadequate resources to respond, warns the World Food Programme in its 2026 Global Outlook. A staggering 318 million people face crisis levels of hunger or worse next year - more than double the figure recorded in 2019.
Source: World Food Programme
Millions of lives at risk of famine, warn UN food agencies
11/11/2025: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme have issued a warning of a major hunger emergency, with acute food insecurity set to worsen in 16 countries and territories. Conflict and violence are the leading cause in 14 of the 16 hotspots.
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization
1.7 billion people experience lower crop yields due to land degradation
3/11/2025: The 2025 State of Food and Agriculture report published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization finds that agricultural productivity, rural livelihoods and food security are impacted by human-induced land degradation, affecting approximately 1.7 billion people. The report defines land degradation as a long-term decline in the land’s ability to deliver essential ecosystem functions and services.
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Corporate agribusiness imperils peasant rights and food sovereignty
21/10/2025: A handful of powerful corporations control vast portions of global agricultural production, a concentration of power that undermines the autonomy of small-scale farmers, exacerbates inequality and endangers the ecological foundations of food systems, a group of UN human rights experts has warned.
Source: Third World Network
Time to build a better system for food aid
30/9/2025: Despite decades of international commitments to reduce global hunger, projections show that progress has stalled. We need to move away from the outdated and inefficient approach to emergency food aid, and toward more anticipatory, collaborative, and resilient local food systems.
Source: Devex
Progress assessment towards food and agriculture SDG indicators
25/9/2025 A new report assesses progress on food-related indicators spanning the Sustainable Development Goals. The world is close to achieving one-quarter of the relevant targets, while another quarter remains far or very far from completion. An estimated 8.2 percent of the global population may have faced hunger in 2024.
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization
UN report slams global corporate capture of food systems
23/9/2025: A relatively small number of corporations have amassed so much power over the world’s food systems that “a small group of people shape food systems in a way that serves the ultimate goal of profit maximization instead of the public good”. These are the conclusions from the annual report by the UN-Rapporteur on the Right to Food, to be presented to the UN General Assembly.
Source: Corporate Euro Observatory
Momentum builds in national school meals programmes
19/9/2025: At least 466 million children now receive school meals through government-led programmes worldwide - an increase of 20% over the past four years. A significant share of new commitments are coming from low income countries where the needs are highest.
Source: World Food Programme
Trends noted at the 2025 Africa Food Systems Forum
10/9/2025: The first gathering of African food systems experts since the US government withdrew most of its foreign aid funding ended with promising indications that the continent is trying to stimulate its own agricultural production with locally sourced financing
Source: Devex
Hunger monitor calls for immediate response as famine confirmed in Gaza
22/8/2025: The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Classification System has confirmed that famine exists in the Gaza Strip. Over half a million people are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death. Through September conditions are expected to further worsen with famine projected to expand to a further 641,000 people.
Source: The New Humanitarian