Groups most likely to face hunger include those with low incomes, women, children, people in conflict zones, and those affected by climate change and displacement. These vulnerabilities are often interconnected and can trap communities in a cycle of poverty and malnutrition.
Those marginalized within a community – such as the elderly, women, displaced people and refugees, and those with disabilities – are more likely to face barriers to essential services, jobs, income, and resources. They are also more likely to face food insecurity and illness, including malnutrition.
The crises are ranked by the total number of people facing severe hunger in each country.
Which are the people more prone to food insecurity? Ans: A large section of people suffer from the insecurity of food and nutrition in India. The worst affected groups are: In rural parts, traditional artists, traditional services providers, landless, beggars and self-employed workers.
Race and ethnicity: Rates of food insecurity were higher for Black (24.4 percent) and Latinx (20.2 percent) households. The rate for Black households was more than double the rate of White, non-Latinx households (10.1 percent).
Elon Musk Said He'd Give $6 Billion to End World Hunger If the UN Could Explain How — They Did, But He Didn't Give Them a Dime. In October 2021, Elon Musk had just been crowned the richest person on Earth. David Beasley, head of the United Nations World Food Program at the time, didn't miss a beat.
Income-related factors
People with lower incomes or unstable incomes are more likely to experience food insecurity. This includes people working low-wage jobs, facing unemployment or having a disability.
In addition, children with unemployed parents have higher rates of food insecurity than children with employed parents. Disabled adults may be at a higher risk for food insecurity due to limited employment opportunities and health care-related expenses that reduce the income available to buy food.
Single parents face the highest rates of food insecurity, with one in three (34%) struggling to afford enough food. Families with children are more vulnerable (16%) than those without (8%). Group households, often made up of students or young workers, are also heavily affected at 28%.
While income plays a role, poverty affects people from all walks of life. It's especially difficult for families with children, people of color, and people with disabilities.
Regional and National Trends in Hunger
The 2025 GHI report finds that hunger is most severe in the regions of Africa South of the Sahara and South Asia, where hunger remains serious. Africa South of the Sahara's high GHI score is driven by the highest undernourishment and child mortality rates of any region by far.
No Kid Hungry is a national campaign run by Share Our Strength, a nonprofit working to solve problems of hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world.
However, with five years to go, the 2025 Global Hunger Index notes that we're still more than a century away from achieving even “low” levels of hunger in many of the hungriest countries in the world. So here's the question: Can world hunger be solved? Our short answer: Yes.
These people include pregnant women, their unborn and newborn babies, the elderly and people whose immune systems have been weakened by illness or drugs (for example: cancer patients, organ transplant recipients, and people on drugs like cortisone).
The hungriest countries in the world in 2025
A report released by the two UN agencies on Tuesday identifies six that are at the highest risk of famine or catastrophic hunger: Sudan, Palestine, South Sudan, Mali, Haiti, and Yemen.
These include children, women, the elderly, and people living in rural or impoverished areas. People living in conflict-affected regions and climate-vulnerable populations, which tend to coincide with low-income areas, also suffer disproportionately from food insecurity.
Australia's top three causes of death consistently include Dementia (including Alzheimer's disease), Ischaemic Heart Disease, and Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases (like COPD), though their exact ranking can shift, with dementia often leading for women and heart disease for men, but the overall gap narrowing significantly, according to recent ABS data.
Food insecurity a growing problem
Overall, one in three Australian households — almost 3.5 million — faced food insecurity over the last year, as rising costs hit hard.
The main threats to food security are (1) world population growth, (2) the increase demand for food, (3) food price, (4) the disappearance of the variety of agricultural plant species (4) the increase in the area of scarcity water and the limitation of the availability of land and (5) the food losses and food waste.
People at higher risk of foodborne illness include: pregnant women, their unborn and newborn children older people (generally persons over 65–70 years) people whose immune systems have been weakened by disease or illness (e.g. cancer, AIDS, diabetes, organ disease), and organ transplant patients anyone on medication ...
Food security has four interrelated elements: availability, access, utilisation and stability. Availability is about food supply and trade, not just quantity but also the quality and diversity of food.
Food insecurity is categorized into four levels: High Food Security, Marginal Food Security, Low Food Security, and Very Low Food Security.
Foodbank Queensland CEO, Jess Watkinson, says the cost of the most basic of rights – food and shelter, is now the most common cause of food insecurity in Australia. “The number one reason households in Australia struggle to meet their food needs is the cost-of-living crisis.
Poverty is a major cause of food insecurity. Even though the world produces enough food to feed the entire population, four out of ten people in the world can't afford a healthy diet. Some countries experience poverty and low levels of food security more than others.