End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Global hunger has risen sharply since 2019 and remains persistently high. Nearly 1 in 11 people worldwide faced hunger in 2023, while more than 2 billion experienced moderate to severe food insecurity. Millions of children and women are affected by malnutrition. The number of countries in which food prices are moderately to abnormally high remains well above pre-pandemic levels. Getting progress on track with respect to Goal 2 requires urgent action to strengthen food systems, support small-scale producers, improve services and ensure access to affordable, healthy diets. Transitioning food systems to make them more sustainable, inclusive and resilient will drive progress on the Goals. The United Nations Food Systems Summit and its biennial stocktakes – the next of which is scheduled to be held in July 2025 – have helped to align global efforts with nationally defined priorities.

Target 2.1  - Hunger affected 9.1 per cent of the global population in 2023, up from 7.5 per cent in 2019 (between 713 million and 757 million people globally and one in five in Africa). Nearly 2.33 billion people, or almost 3 in 10, faced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2023, which was 383 million more than in 2019.

Target 2.2 - The global prevalence of stunting in children under the age of 5 declined from 26.4 per cent in 2012 to 23.2 per cent in 2024, but recent data indicate a potential reversal of the trend. More than 150 million children were stunted in 2024. The prevalence of overweight in children rose from 5.3 to 5.5 per cent between 2 012 and 2024, though the number of overweight children declined from 36.3 million to 35.5 million. The prevalence of wasting in children declined from 7.4 per cent in 2012 to 6.6 per cent in 2024, and the number of children affected declined from 50.9 million to 42.8 million. 

Some 34 per cent of children between the ages of 6 and 23 months received minimum dietary diversity between 2015 and 2022, which represents a slight improvement from the figure of 28 per cent in the period 2009–2016. Only 65 per cent of women of childbearing age achieved minimum dietary diversity between 2019 and 2023. 30.    

Little improvement has been seen since 2012 with respect to anaemia, which affected one in three women between the ages of 15 and 49 years in 2023.

Target 2.3  - In most countries for which data are available, the annual income of small-scale producers from agriculture is $1,500 (constant 2017 purchasing power parity), which is often less than half of what larger producers earn. Target 2.a  32. Global public expenditures reached $38 trillion in 2023, or 36 per cent of global GDP, of which a record $701 billion went to agriculture. Nonetheless, agriculture represented only 1.85 per cent of total government expenditure. 

Target 2.c  - In 2023, the proportion of countries in which food prices were moderately to abnormally high declined to about 50 per cent. This was lower than the 61 per cent recorded in 2022 but still three times the average of 16 per cent for the period 2015 –2019.

Globally, hunger persists with nearly 1 in 10 of the world's population facing it in 2022, while 2.4 billion people experienced moderate to severe food insecurity. In the same year, nearly 60 per cent of countries worldwide saw significant increases in food prices due to conflicts and disrupted supply chains. Achieving zero hunger requires intensified efforts to transform food systems towards sustainability, resilience, and equity. Furthermore, accelerating improvements in diets, nutrition, health, and hygiene is crucial to meeting the SDG target of halving the number of children suffering from chronic undernutrition.

Target 2.1: After a sharp increase following the COVID-19 pandemic, global hunger stabilized at around 9.2% of the population from 2021 to 2022. Between 691 and 783 million people faced hunger in 2022. Considering the midrange (735 million), 122 million more people faced hunger in 2022 than in 2019, when the prevalence stood at 7.9%. Additionally, an estimated 29.6% of the global population – 2.4 billion people – were moderately or severely food insecure in 2022.

Target 2.2: Globally in 2022, an estimated 22.3% of children under age 5 (148 million) were affected by stunting, down from 24.6% in 2015 and 26.3% in 2012 (baseline year of WHO nutrition targets). Based on current trends, 1 out of 5 (19.5%) children under age 5 will be affected by stunting in 2030. Overweight affected 37.0 million children under age 5 (or 5.6%) and wasting affected 45 million (or 6.8%) in 2022.

Target 2.3: The income gap between small-scale and non-small-scale food producers remains significant. In 95% of countries with available data, the average annual income of small-scale producers is less than half that of nonsmall-scale producers. Among small-scale food producers, units headed by men typically generate higher incomes compared to those headed by women.

Target 2.a: In 2022, global public expenditures reached $36 trillion, of which $749 billion went towards agriculture—an all-time high. Agriculture represented 2.1% of total government expenditure, a recovery from the pandemic, and is only marginally below the 2019 level. Government expenditure on agriculture relative to the agriculture sector’s contribution to GDP, measured in terms of the agriculture orientation index, declined from the 2015 baseline of 0.50 to 0.43 in 2021, but rebounded to 0.48 in 2022.

Target 2.b: Total notified annual agriculture export subsidy outlays fell from its peak of $ 6.7 billion in 1999 to $33 million in 2022. As of 1st January 2024, only least developed countries (LDCs) and net food importing developing countries are allowed to use certain forms of export subsidies.

Target 2.c: In 2022, the share of countries facing moderately to abnormally high food prices reached a new record-high of 58.1% after falling by more than half in 2021 from the previous historical peak of 48% in 2020. The 2022 share represented a nearly four-fold increase from the 2015-19 average levels of 15.2%. Major disruption to logistics and food supply chains, following the breakout of the war in Ukraine, resulted in higher food and energy prices, particularly during the first half of 2022.

The number of people facing hunger and food insecurity has been on the rise since 2015, with the pandemic, conflict climate change and growing inequalities exacerbating the situation. In 2015, 589 million people were experiencing hunger, and by 2021, that number had risen to 768 million. Projections show that by 2030, approximately 670 million people will still be facing hunger – 8% of the world’s population, the same as in 2015. Despite global efforts, too many children continue suffering from malnutrition and the current annual rate of reduction in stunting must increase by 2.2 times to meet the global target. To achieve zero hunger by 2030, immediate and intensified efforts are required to transform food systems, ensure food security and invest in sustainable agricultural practices.

• Target 2.1: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already deteriorating food security situation, with about 150 million more people facing hunger in 2021 than in 2019. In addition, nearly 1 in 3 (2.3 billion people) were moderately or severely food insecure in 2021. This represents an increase of almost 350 million people since the beginning of the pandemic. The most worrisome increases were seen in sub-Saharan Africa. The ongoing crisis in Ukraine is yet another threat to food security.
• Target 2.2: Globally in 2022, an estimated 22.3% of children under age 5 (148 million) were affected by stunting, down from 24.6% in 2015.  Overweight affected 37.0 million children under age 5 (or 5.6%) and wasting affected 45 million (or 6.8%) in 2022. The global prevalence of overweight children has stagnated, and if current trends continue, the 2030 target will be missed by 17.5 million children. Further, the prevalence of anaemia in women of reproductive age continues to be alarming, stagnant at around 30% since 2000. And low and lower-middle income economies bear the greatest burden of stunting, wasting, low birth weight and anaemia.
• Target 2.5: Although 71% of local livestock breeds with a known status are at risk of extinction, progress has been made in ex-situ cryopreservation: Between 1995 and 2022, the number of local and transboundary breeds for which sufficient material is available increased from 57 to 287 (out of 7688 local breeds) and from 31 to 175 (out of 1115 transboundary breeds), respectively. At the end of 2021, an estimated 5.8 million accessions of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture were conserved under medium- or long-term conditions in 846 gene banks in 115 countries and 17 regional and international research centres, representing a 1.1% year-on-year increase in 2021.
• Target 2.a: Investment in agriculture is falling. Government expenditure on agriculture relative to the agriculture sector’s contribution to GDP has declined from 0.50 in 2015 to 0.45 in 2021 in all regions except Northern America and Europe, which was driven mostly by the COVID-19 pandemic response.
• Target 2.b: In December 2015, WTO Members adopted the Ministerial Decision on Export Competition, thus formally agreeing to eliminate all forms of agricultural export subsidies entitlements. Total notified annual export subsidy outlays fell from their peak of 218 million in 2015 to almost zero in 2021.
• Target 2.c: In 2021, the share of countries facing moderately to abnormally high food prices was 21.5%, a significant decline from the record-high of 48% in 2020, when the easing of COVID-19 related restrictive measures prompted strong demand. However, this is still above the 2015-2019 average (15.2%), reflecting continued increases in food prices, mainly supported by elevated production and transport costs on account of costlier fertilizers and energy. In sub-Saharan Africa and among LDCs, the proportion of countries experiencing high food prices increased for the second consecutive year in 2021.

Between 2014 and the onset of the pandemic, the number of people going hungry and suffering from food insecurity had been gradually rising. The COVID-19 crisis has pushed those rising rates even higher. The war in Ukraine is further disrupting global food supply chains and creating the biggest global food crisis since the Second World War. The COVID-19 crisis has also exacerbated all forms of malnutrition, particularly in children.

In 2020, between 720 and 811 million persons worldwide were suffering from hunger, as many as 161 million more than in 2019. Also in 2020, over 30 per cent – a staggering 2.4 billion people – were moderately or severely food-insecure, lacking regular access to adequate food. This represents an increase of almost 320 million people in the course of just one year.

Globally, 149.2 million children under five years of age, or 22.0 per cent, were suffering from stunting (low height for age) in 2020², the proportion having decreased from 24.4 per cent in 2015. These numbers may become higher, however, owing to continued constraints on accessing nutritious diets and essential nutrition services during the pandemic, with the full impact possibly taking years to manifest itself. To achieve the target of a 5 per cent reduction in the number of stunted children by 2025, the current rate of decline of 2.1 per cent per year must double through global efforts to 3.9 per cent per year.

In 2020², wasting (low weight for height) affected 45.4 million children under five years of age (6.7 per cent) and overweeight affected 38.9 million children under five years of age (5.7 per cent). Wasting will be one of the conditions most impacted by COVID-19 pandemic in the short term; about 15 per cent more children than currently estimated may have been suffering from wasting, owing to deterioration in household wealth and disruptions in the availability and affordability of nutritious food and essential nutrition services. Childhood overweight may also be on the rise in some countries where unhealthy food replaced fresh, nutritious food and movement restrictions have constrained opportunities for physical activity for long periods of time.

In women, anaemia increases the risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Since 2015, the prevalence of anaemia in women of reproductive age has been stagnant globally, with over half a billion women aged 15-49 years with anaemia in 2019, representing a prevalence of 29.9 per cent (29.6 per cent in non-pregnant women and 36.5 per cent in pregnant women).

In three quarters of the limited number of countries with data, small-scale food producers show an average annual income of less than half that of large-scale food producers. Similarly, the labor productivity of small-scale food producers continues to lag behind that of larger-scale producers. Among small-scale food producers, the income of women-headed production units is systematically lower than the income of those units headed by men, aounting in half of the countries to only 50-70 per cent of the income of the units headed by men.

The world is still far from maintaining the genetic diversity of farmed and domesticated animals, either in the field or in gene banks. For 62 per cent of local livestock breeds, the risk status remains unknown. Of the limited number of surveyed local livestock breeds, 72 per cent are deemed at risk of extinction. At the same time, for only 277 out of a global total of 7,704 local livestock breeds is there sufficient material in gene banks to reconstitute the breeds in case of extinction.

The share of countries burdened by high food prices, which had been relatively stable since 2016, rose sharply from 16 per cent in 2019 to 47 per cent in 2020, reflecting mainly trends in international markets.
International prices of food items soared in the second half of 2020, more than offsetting declines in the first five months of the year, supported by the increase in international demand for cereals, vegetable oils, sugar and dairy products associated with the easing of the restrictive measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In domestic markets, upward pressure was also exerted by rising costs of freight and agricultural inputs as well as logistical bottlenecks and market uncertainty.

² The 2020 estimates do not account for the full impact of COVID-19 pandemic, as household survey data on child height and age were not collected in 2020 owing to physical distancing policies.

Source: Progress Towards Sustainable Development Goals- Report of the Secretary-General

For more information, please, check: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people experiencing hunger globally and suffering from food insecurity had been rising gradually since 2014. The pandemic has increased the vulnerabilities and inadequacies of global food systems, potentially leaving hundreds of millions more people chronically undernourished and making the goal of ending hunger more difficult to achieve. Between 83 and 132 million more people may already have been pushed into chronic hunger in 2020. In addition, countries and territories around the world continue to struggle with multiple forms of malnutrition.

It is estimated that almost 690 million people around the world experienced hunger in 2019, equivalent to 8.9 per cent of the world population – an increase of nearly 60 million in five years. Updated estimates due for publication in July 2021 will provide a more recent picture of the effects of the pandemic on hunger.

An estimated 2 billion people, 25.9 per cent of the world population, were affected by moderate or severe food insecurity in 2019, up from 22.4 per cent in 2015. The fastest rise was recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean, although the highest levels were registered in sub-Saharan Africa.

Globally, 149.2 million children under the age of 5, some 22 per cent of all children, suffer from stunting (low height for age) according to the latest estimates available for 2020,2 a decrease from 24.4 per cent in 2015. However, these figures may rise as a result of continued constraints on access to nutritious food and essential nutrition services during the pandemic, the full impact of which may take years to manifest.

In 2020, wasting (low weight for height) and overweight affected 6.7 per cent (45.4 million) and 5.7 per cent (38.9 million) of children under the age of 5, respectively. Wasting will be one of the conditions most affected by the pandemic in the short term: around 15 per cent more children than estimated may have suffered from wasting as a result of a decline in household wealth and disruptions in the availability and affordability of nutritious food and essential nutrition services. Childhood overweight (high weight for height) may also rise in some countries and territories where unhealthy foods replaced fresh, nutritious foodstuffs and restrictions on movement constrained opportunities for physical activity for long periods.

In women, anaemia increases the risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. In 2019, the global prevalence of anaemia was 29.9 per cent in women of reproductive age, 29.6 per cent in non-pregnant women and 36.5 per cent in pregnant women. The prevalence was higher in Central and Southern Asia, at 47.5 per cent in women of reproductive age.

The average agricultural output per labour day of small-scale food producers in the limited number of countries and territories surveyed is lower than that of large - scale producers, who also earn up to two or three times the annual income of smallscale producers. In almost all countries and territories surveyed, households headed by males achieve higher labour productivity and earn larger annual incomes compared to their female counterparts.

Global holdings of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture in 2020 reached 5.7 million accessions conserved in 831 gene banks by 114 countries and territories and 17 regional and international research centres. Although the total number of global holdings has risen, the growth rate decreased over the past 10 years, reaching its lowest level in 2020.

The world is still far off target for maintaining the genetic diversity of farmed and domesticated animals, either in the field or in gene banks. The risk status of 61 per cent of local livestock breeds remains unknown. Of the limited number surveyed, 74 per cent are deemed to be at risk of extinction, yet there is only sufficient material in gene banks for 203 out of a global total of 7,700 local livestock breeds to reconstitute the breed in the event of its extinction.

While the share of agricultural aid has remained constant at about 5 percent, it has more than doubled in volume since 2002, with total disbursements amounting to $13 billion in 2019.

A steady downward trend has been observed in export subsidy outlays notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Total notified annual outlays fell from a peak of $6.7 billion in 1999 to $138 million in 2018. In December 2015, WTO members adopted the ministerial decision on export competition, formally agreeing to eliminate all forms of agricultural export subsidy entitlements.

At the global level, the number of countries and territories afflicted by high food prices decreased from 2014 to 2019, with the notable exception of some countries in Central, Southern and Western Asia as well as Northern Africa, owing to the reduced domestic availability of staple foods and to currency depreciations.

Source: Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals - E/2021/58

The total number of persons suffering from severe food insecurity has been on the rise since 2015, and there are still millions of malnourished children. The economic slowdown and the disruption of food value chains caused by the pandemic are exacerbating hunger and food insecurity. In addition, the upsurge in desert locusts remains alarming in East Africa and Yemen, where 35 million persons already experience acute food insecurity. Owing to the pandemic, some 370 million schoolchildren are missing the free school meals that they rely on. Measures to strengthen food production and distribution systems must be taken immediately to mitigate and minimize the impacts of the pandemic.

An estimated 26.4 per cent of the world population, about 2 billion persons, were affected by moderate or severe food insecurity in 2018, an increase from 23.2 per cent in 2014, owing mainly to increases in food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Slightly more than 700 million persons, or 9.2 per cent of the world population, experienced severe food insecurity in 2018, implying reductions in the quantity of food consumed to the extent that they possibly experienced hunger.

The proportion of children under 5 years of age suffering from chronic undernutrition, as well as stunting (being too short for one’s age), decreased, from 23.1 per cent in 2015 to 21.3 per cent in 2019. Globally, 144 million children under 5 years of age were still affected by stunting in 2019. Three quarters of them lived in Central and Southern Asia or sub-Saharan Africa.

Globally, 47 million children under 5 years of age, or 6.9 per cent, were affected by acute undernutrition or wasting (low weight for one’s height) in 2019 conditions generally caused by limited nutrient intake and infection. More than half of the wasted children lived in Central and Southern Asia. Childhood overweight affected 38 million children under 5 years of age worldwide, or 5.6 per cent, in 2019. Wasting and overweight may coexist at levels considered to be medium to high, the so-called double burden of malnutrition. In Northern Africa and South-Eastern Asia, the rate of wasting was 7.2 per cent and 8.2 per cent, respectively, while the rate of overweight was 11.3 per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively, in 2019.

The share of government expenditure in the agricultural sector, measured by government expenditure in agriculture divided by the sector’s share of GDP, fell worldwide, from 0.42 to 0.31 to 0.28 per cent in 2001, 2015 and 2018, respectively. Moreover, aid to agriculture in developing countries fell, from nearly 25 per cent of all donors’ sector-allocable aid in the mid-1980s to only 5 per cent, in 2018.

In 2019, sharp increases in food prices were concentrated largely in sub-Saharan Africa, driven by production shocks and macroeconomic difficulties. The lingering impact of prolonged conflict and extreme weather conditions in some areas were additional factors.

Source: Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, Report of the Secretary-General, https://undocs.org/en/E/2020/57

Hunger is on the rise again globally and undernutrition continues to affect millions of children. Public investment in agriculture globally is declining, smallscale food producers and family farmers require much greater support and increased investment in infrastructure and technology for sustainable agriculture is urgently needed.

• An estimated 821 million people – approximately 1 in 9 people in the world – were undernourished in 2017, up from 784 million in 2015. This represents a worrying rise in world hunger for a third consecutive year after a prolonged decline. Africa remains the continent with the highest prevalence of undernourishment, affecting one fifth of its population (more than 256 million people). Consistent with the continued growth in undernourishment, 770 million people faced severe food insecurity in 2017.
• Stunting has been decreasing in nearly every region since 2000. Still, more than 1 in 5 children under 5 years of age (149 million) were stunted in 2018. Globally, 49 million children under 5 were affected by wasting and another 40 million were overweight in 2018.
• Strengthening the resilience and adaptive capacity of small-scale and family farmers, whose productivity is systematically lower than all other food producers, is critical to reversing the trend of the rise in hunger. The share of small-scale food producers in terms of all food producers in countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America ranges from 40 to 85 per cent, compared with fewer than 10 per cent in Europe.
• Government spending on agriculture compared to agriculture’s contribution to the total economy has declined by 37 per cent; the ratio fell from 0.42 in 2001 to 0.26 worldwide in 2017. In addition, aid to agriculture in developing countries fell from nearly 25 per cent of all donors’ sector-allocable aid in the mid-1980s to only 5 per cent in 2017, representing a decrease of $12.6 billion.
• A continuous downward trend has been observed in export subsidy outlays reported to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The total outlays fell from close to $500 million in 2010 to around $120 million in 2016. This reduction in export subsidies by Governments is leading to lower distortions in agricultural markets.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, Special edition: progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals

After a prolonged decline, world hunger appears to be on the rise again. Conflict, drought and disasters linked to climate change are among the key factors causing this reversal in progress.

• The proportion of undernourished people worldwide increased from 10.6 per cent in 2015 to 11.0 per cent in 2016. This translates to 815 million people worldwide in 2016, up from 777 million in 2015.
• In 2017, 151 million children under age 5 suffered from stunting (low height for their age), 51 million suffered from wasting (low weight for height), and 38 million were overweight.
• Aid to agriculture in developing countries totalled $12.5 billion in 2016, falling to 6 per cent of all donors’ sector-allocable aid from nearly 20 per cent in the mid-1980s.
• Progress has been made in reducing market-distorting agricultural subsidies, which were more than halved in five years—from $491 million in 2010 to less than $200 million in 2015
• In 2016, 26 countries experienced high or moderately high levels of general food prices, which may have negatively affected food security.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

Efforts to combat hunger and malnutrition have advanced significantly since 2000. Ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition for all, however, will require continued and focused efforts, especially in Asia and Africa. More investments in agriculture, including government spending and aid, are needed to increase capacity for agricultural productivity.

• The proportion of undernourished people worldwide declined from 15 per cent in 2000-2002 to 11 per cent in 2014-2016. About 793 million people are undernourished globally, down from 930 million people during the same period.
• In 2016, an estimated 155 million children under 5 years of age were stunted (too short for their age, a result of chronic malnutrition). Globally, the stunting rate fell from 33 per cent in 2000 to 23 per cent in 2016. Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa accounted for three quarters of all stunted children that year.
• In 2016, an estimated 52 million children under 5 years of age worldwide suffered from wasting (with a low weight for their height, usually the result of an acute and significant food shortage and/or disease). The global wasting rate in 2016 was 7.7 per cent, with the highest rate (15.4 per cent) in Southern Asia. At the other end of the spectrum, overweight and obesity affected 41 million children under 5 years of age worldwide (6 per cent) in 2016.
• Ending hunger demands sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices. One aspect of that effort is maintaining the genetic diversity of plants and animals, which is crucial for agriculture and food production. In 2016, 4.7 million samples of seeds and other plant genetic material for food and agriculture were preserved in 602 gene banks throughout 82 countries and 14 regional and international centres — a 2 per cent increase since 2014. Animal genetic material has been cryoconserved, but only for 15 per cent of national breed populations, according to information obtained from 128 countries. The stored genetic material is sufficient to reconstitute only 7 per cent of national breed populations should they become extinct. As of February 2017, 20 per cent of local breeds were classified as at risk.
• Increased investments are needed to enhance capacity for agricultural productivity. However, the global agriculture orientation index — defined as agriculture’s share of government expenditure divided by the sector’s share of gross domestic product (GDP) — fell from 0.38 in 2001 to 0.24 in 2013 and to 0.21 in 2015.
• The share of sector-allocable aid allocated to agriculture from member countries of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) fell from nearly 20 per cent in the mid-1980s to 7 per cent in the late 1990s, where it remained through 2015. The decline reflects a shift away from aid for financing infrastructure and production towards a greater focus on social sectors.
• In 2016, 21 countries experienced high or moderately high domestic prices, relative to their historic levels, for one or more staple cereal food commodities. Thirteen of those countries were in sub-Saharan Africa. The main causes of high prices were declines in domestic output, currency depreciation and insecurity. Localized increases in fuel prices also drove food prices higher.
• Some progress has been made in preventing distortions in world agricultural markets. The global agricultural export subsidies were reduced by 94 per cent from 2000 to 2014. In December 2015, members of the World Trade Organization adopted a ministerial decision on eliminating export subsidies for agricultural products and restraining export measures that have a similar effect.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, "Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals", E/2017/66

• Goal 2 aims to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030. It also commits to universal access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food at all times of the year. This will require sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices, equal access to land, technology and markets and international cooperation on investments in infrastructure and technology to boost agricultural productivity.
• The fight against hunger has progressed over the past 15 years. Globally, the prevalence of hunger has declined, from 15 per cent according to figures for 2000 to 2002, to 11 per cent according to figures for 2014 to 2016. However, more than 790 million people worldwide still lack regular access to adequate amounts of dietary energy. If current trends continue, the zero hunger target will be largely missed by 2030. Many countries that failed to reach the target set as part of the Millennium Development Goals, of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, have faced natural and human-induced disasters or political instability, resulting in protracted crises, with increased vulnerability and food insecurity affecting large parts of the population. The persistence of hunger is no longer simply a matter of food availability. More and better data on access to food can enable the tracking of progress and guide interventions to fight food insecurity and malnutrition.
• Globally, in 2014, nearly 1 in 4 children under the age of 5, an estimated total of 159 million children, had stunted growth. Stunting is defined as inadequate height for age, an indicator of the cumulative effects of undernutrition and infection. Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa accounted for three quarters of the children under 5 with stunted growth in 2014. Another aspect of child malnutrition is the growing share of children who are overweight, a problem affecting nearly every region. Globally, between 2000 and 2014, the percentage of children under the age of 5 who were overweight grew from 5.1 per cent to 6.1 per cent.
• Ending hunger and malnutrition relies heavily on sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices. Genetic diversity in livestock breeds is crucial for agriculture and food production since it allows for the raising of farm animals in a wide range of environments and provides the basis for diverse products and services. Globally, 20 per cent of local livestock breeds, meaning breeds reported in only one country, are at risk of extinction. Another 16 per cent of breeds are stable, and the status of the remaining local breeds is unknown owing to a lack of data. The figures exclude livestock breeds that have already become extinct.
• To increase the productive capacity of agriculture, more investment is needed, both public and private, from domestic and foreign sources. However, recent trends in government spending are not favourable. The agriculture orientation index, defined as agriculture’s share of government expenditures divided by the sector’s share of gross domestic product (GDP), fell globally from 0.37 to 0.25 between 2001 and 2013. The decline in the index was interrupted only temporarily during the food price crisis of 2006 to 2008, when governments increased agricultural spending.
• Since the late 1990s, the percentage of aid for supporting agriculture in developing countries has been stable at around 8 per cent, when measured as a share of sector-allocable aid from member countries of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This has decreased, from a peak of 20 per cent in the mid-1980s, as a result of donors beginning to focus more on improving governance, building social capital and bolstering fragile States.
• One of the targets for Goal 2 calls for correcting and preventing distortions in world agricultural markets, including the elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies. Those subsidies mask market signals, reduce competitiveness and can lead to environmental damage and the inequitable distribution of benefits. That said, some progress is being made, with members of the World Trade Organization adopting a ministerial decision, in December 2015, on eliminating export subsidies for agricultural products and restraining export measures that have an equivalent effect.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, "Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals", E/2016/75