A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) showed that global hunger levels have declined for the third consecutive year, a development the UN described as historic progress, but it warned that this improvement remains "fragile" in the face of conflicts, climate change, and economic shocks.

This came during a press conference held by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at its headquarters in Rome to launch the report "SOFI 2026," with the participation of officials from UN agencies concerned with food security, who called for accelerating efforts to maintain this progress. FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said during the conference that about 645 million people suffering from hunger, representing 7.8%, is the lowest percentage recorded so far, and "shows that hunger is not inevitable," warning that wars in the Middle East and climate changes have a clear impact on these figures.

The report also noted that the situation in Africa is the most critical, with about 20% of its population suffering from chronic undernourishment. However, climate shocks are not the only factor casting a shadow over the African continent despite their severe impact, as conflicts in Sudan, the Sahel region, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo deprive millions of people of access to their agricultural land or sources of income, according to the report. In addition to hunger, about 2.1 billion people, or 25.8% of the world's population, suffer from moderate or severe food insecurity, according to the report, which indicated that food may be available in terms of quantity, but it is irregular or lacks adequate nutritional value. As a result of malnutrition, about 150 million children under five suffer from stunting, compared to 180 million in 2012. Notably, at the same time, the obesity rate among adults continues to rise, reaching 16.2% in 2024, and is expected to reach 18.6% by 2030, according to the FAO report. The report expressed concern about the impact of the El Niño climate phenomenon on agricultural crops, warning of a new wave of rising food prices in 2026.