Why a healthy diet is still unaffordable for one in three people worldwide

News that global hunger is declining is usually met with a measure of optimism each year, but a new report jointly produced by five United Nations agencies is a reminder that the picture is far more complicated. According to the report, 2.69 billion people worldwide cannot afford a diverse diet that meets the body's energy and nutrient needs — meaning a third of humanity cannot afford to eat not just enough, but genuinely healthily.

That distinction matters. Hunger is usually measured as a shortfall in calories, while a healthy diet is a far broader concept: it requires adequate protein, vitamins, minerals and fibre, meaning regular consumption of fruit, vegetables, legumes and dairy. The report shows the gap between the two has still not closed for a large share of the world's population.

The report's authors note that global hunger has declined for a third consecutive year — an encouraging sign that the long-running trend of deterioration may have reversed. But the progress is unevenly distributed: hunger is receding in some regions, while in others conflict, climate shocks and economic stagnation continue to worsen the situation.

The core reason healthy diets remain unaffordable is an imbalance in the price of different food groups. Grains and starchy staples are generally cheap and abundant, while fruit, vegetables and dairy — the building blocks of a balanced diet — consume a far larger share of the budget in many low-income households. That pushes people towards diets that are calorically adequate but nutritionally poor.

The report stresses that reaching the target of zero hunger by 2030 will require an immense amount of work. The authors argue that simply increasing food production is not enough; supply chains, agricultural subsidies and food distribution systems also need to be reshaped to make healthy food more accessible.

Experts recommend that governments increase incentives for fruit and vegetable production, invest in cold-chain infrastructure to reduce spoilage, and use targeted interventions such as school feeding programmes to ensure children have access to nutritious food from an early age. Such policies have been found to be cost-effective, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

The report also notes that climate change is complicating the picture further. Extreme weather events are making the harvest and transport of perishable produce such as fruit and vegetables increasingly unpredictable, driving up price volatility and making healthy food even less accessible, particularly during crisis periods.

Experts stress the problem is not confined to low-income countries alone. Even in wealthy countries, communities living in so-called food deserts, where access to fresh produce is limited, face a similar affordability problem. That shows a healthy diet is not only an income issue, but also one of infrastructure and distribution.

UN agencies say progress is possible, but political will needs to be sustained. Over the past decade, some countries have managed to significantly lower the cost of healthy food through targeted subsidies and agricultural reforms — evidence, the report argues, that similar policies could be applied on a wider scale.

In the end, the report is a reminder that a decline in hunger is progress worth celebrating, but the real target is much higher: not merely filling stomachs, but building a world where everyone can access a genuinely nourishing diet.