Africa to surpass Asia in hunger by 2030 as global crises bite — UN report

The United Nations has predicted, in its annual report on food security and nutrition, that Africa will overtake Asia as the continent with the highest number of people experiencing hunger by 2030.

Five UN agencies have warned in the new report there was a “clear trend” of rising prevalence of undernourishment in the continent, which comes as climate crisis, conflicts, and economic shocks leave the global food system “disastrously vulnerable”. While currently Africa already has the largest proportion (20.4%) of people lacking nutritious food to eat, Asia is home to more than half the world’s hungry people. In 2023 in Asia, 384.5 million people were facing hunger, compared with 298.4 million in Africa. But if current trends continue, 53% of the almost 600 million chronically undernourished people by 2030 will be living in Africa, according to the UN report.

Alvaro Lario, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), described the situation as “alarming” and warned that it would worsen unless a swift action is taken. “In a decade, because of population growth and current dynamics, [the problem] will be harder to solve, with a much higher number of people in Africa suffering from chronic hunger,” Lario said. Africa lags behind Asia in the focus on local production, diversification of crops, the use of fertilizers and more public investment, he added.

“We are losing the battle against hunger, especially in rural communities where many of the people who produce the food we eat are unable to feed themselves and their families,” said Elizabeth Nsimalda, president of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF), an organization representing 25 million food producers.