The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026: Understanding and Addressing the High Cost of a Healthy Diet

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2026 is the flagship annual report jointly published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO). The report provides the latest global assessment of progress towards ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition, and meeting Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger).

The 2026 edition, titled "Understanding and Addressing the High Cost of a Healthy Diet," examines one of the most pressing barriers to food security today—the affordability of nutritious diets. While global hunger has shown gradual improvement in recent years, the report estimates that 645 million people experienced hunger in 2025, demonstrating that the world remains significantly off track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030.

The report reveals that approximately 2.7 billion people worldwide cannot afford a healthy diet, with the crisis being particularly severe in Africa. It identifies the high prices of nutrient-dense foods—including animal-source foods, fruits, and vegetables—as accounting for nearly 70 percent of the total cost of a healthy diet. It further explores how geographical disparities, low agricultural productivity, inefficient value chains, food loss and waste, and inadequate infrastructure continue to limit access to safe, diverse, and nutritious foods.

Drawing on extensive global data and evidence, the report proposes practical policy recommendations to improve the affordability of healthy diets. These include redirecting agricultural subsidies towards more nutritious food production, increasing investment in horticulture, strengthening cold chain and transport infrastructure, improving market efficiency, reducing food loss and waste, and implementing coordinated multisectoral interventions that enhance food system resilience while reducing the hidden costs of agrifood systems.

This flagship publication is an essential resource for policymakers, researchers, development practitioners, students, civil society organizations, private sector stakeholders, and youth working in agriculture, nutrition, climate resilience, and sustainable development. It provides evidence-based analysis and actionable recommendations to support governments and development partners in building more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems.