article · Sustainability
Ensuring an adequate and safe food supply for a growing global population remains a major challenge, intensified by escalating prices, persistent insecurity, and the COVID-19 pandemic. An assessment of global hunger and food security patterns across diverse regions examined metrics including Global Hunger Index scores, Global Food Security Index scores, and Food and Agriculture Organization data from 2015 to 2022. While developed countries demonstrated notable improvements in food security and hunger metrics, the results highlight profound regional divides. The Central African Republic recorded the lowest ranking, reflecting an alarming hunger score, whereas countries such as Finland achieved leading food security levels. Sub-Saharan Africa faced the most pronounced deteriorations in food security scores alongside notable increases in hunger, demonstrating the severe and disproportionate burden borne by the region.
Food insecurity threatens human survival, economic stability, and international development goals. By evaluating global index data, this research reveals a widening gap between regions making steady gains and sub-Saharan Africa, where hunger is worsening. Understanding these disparities allows international organisations, governments, and relief agencies to identify critical geographic vulnerabilities and allocate agricultural aid and developmental resources to the areas facing the most severe hardship.
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One of today’s most critical challenges is ensuring sufficient and safe food production and supply for the ever-expanding global population. Recently, many countries around the world, particularly those in Africa, have been grappling with severe hunger and food insecurity, frequently exacerbated by events such as escalating global prices, persistent insecurity, and the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study undertook an extensive review of the prevalence and severity of hunger and food insecurity across diverse countries and regions. The review utilised several metrics, including Global Hunger Index (GHI) scores, Global Food Security Index (GFSI) scores, 2015–2022 data (related to two Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) targets) from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and other pertinent sources to assess the development of the current status of the countries included in this study. The 20 countries with 2023 GHI scores below five were collectively ranked from 1 to 20, signifying low hunger levels. However, the Central African Republic (CAR) received the lowest ranking, at 125 out of 125, with a score of 42.3, indicating an alarming level of hunger. Finland achieved the highest GFSI score of 83.7, with Oman showing the most notable GFSI improvement at +13.8, while Syria experienced a significant decline in the GFSI score by −10.5. Over time, many countries, particularly the developed ones, have witnessed significant improvements in their GHI and GFSI scores. Meanwhile, most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have experienced the greatest deterioration in their GFSI scores and notable increases in their GHI scores. The review documented the significant progress made by countries and regions in reducing levels of hunger and food insecurity while highlighting the substantial burden borne by sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in combating global hunger and food insecurity.
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DOI: 10.3390/su16124877
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