SOFI 2026: 150 Million Children Malnourished – UN Report

Hunger Declining, but Children Remain at Risk

The situation for children under five remains serious, however. Around 150 million children under five (23 percent) were still chronically malnourished in 2024, resulting in stunted growth. While this represents a decrease of 26 percent since 2012, the target of reducing the figure to 108 million by 2030 is unlikely to be achieved at the current pace.

The share of underweight children under five also declined only slightly, from 7.4 percent (2012) to 6.6 percent (2024). Overweight among children under five, on the other hand, even increased slightly, from 5.3 percent to 5.5 percent.

Unicef Calls for Joint Action

Unicef Executive Director Catherine Russell emphasized: „Jedes Kind verdient die Chance, zu wachsen und sein volles Potenzial zu entfalten, und das beginnt mit dem Zugang zu nahrhaften, erschwinglichen Lebensmitteln". She added, „Ernährung, Gesundheit, Bildung und soziale Sicherung müssen Hand in Hand gehen, um die am stärksten gefährdeten Kinder und Frauen vor globalen Schocks zu schützen."

According to the report, only 30.8 percent of children aged six to 23 months worldwide receive a sufficiently varied diet. A balanced diet during this sensitive growth phase remains out of reach for the vast majority of children.

Uneven Progress Between Regions

Progress is possible, but it is unevenly distributed and also insufficient to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The prevalence of chronic child malnutrition is declining in Africa and is on track to reach the UN 2030 sustainability target in Asia.

The SOFI 2026 report thus paints a mixed picture: globally, hunger figures are falling, but for children, improvement is proceeding too slowly. While some regions are making progress, the 2030 target risks being missed without significantly intensified efforts.