Pakistan has recorded the highest hunger level in South Asia in the 2026 Global Hunger Index, with economic instability, rising food prices and climate-related shocks worsening food insecurity, according to a report.
The report, published on Wednesday under the theme “No Security Without Food Security”, was jointly prepared by Welthungerhilfe, the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict at Ruhr University Bochum and Swiss organisation Helvetas. It found that progress in reducing hunger across South Asia has largely stalled, with conditions in Pakistan and Afghanistan worsening since 2018.
In Pakistan, economic uncertainty and rising food prices have reduced households’ purchasing power and limited their access to food. The report showed that undernourishment in the country had moved from the low to the medium category since 2018, while child wasting had increased towards the high threshold.
South Asia recorded a Global Hunger Index score of 23.5, placing the region in the serious category. Although the score has dropped from 37.5 in 2000, most of the improvement took place before 2018.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have both moved from the alarming to the serious hunger category since 2000. However, child stunting remains very high across the two countries.
Pakistan’s child stunting rate has continued to decline, while Afghanistan has recorded an increase since 2018. Child mortality in both countries has also fallen from very high levels in 2000 to medium levels.
The report warned that acute food insecurity will remain high across the region. Heavy rainfall and flooding caused localised crop losses in parts of Pakistan and Bangladesh, while below-average rainfall and above-average temperatures affected Afghanistan’s 2026 cereal-growing season.
Estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organisation showed that 218 million people across South Asia, including Iran, faced undernourishment between 2023 and 2025. The figure accounts for roughly one-third of the global total.
Globally, progress against hunger has also reversed after nearly two decades of improvement. The 2026 Global Hunger Index score stood at 18.1, compared with 17.6 in 2018.
Hunger levels have increased in 32 countries since 2018, while 57 countries are projected to fall short of achieving even low hunger levels by 2030.
Three of the index’s four indicators, undernourishment, child stunting and child wasting have worsened, while child mortality has continued to decline slightly.
The report identified armed conflicts and extreme weather events as major factors behind the reversal. State-based armed conflicts have reached their highest level since the Second World War, adding to pressure on food supplies and access.
The war in Iran and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab Strait have increased fuel, transport and fertiliser costs.
Russia’s war in Ukraine and restrictions on exports through the Black Sea have also raised concerns over wheat prices, threatening to make basic food supplies less affordable in countries across the Global South.
Meanwhile, international spending on food security has fallen to levels last recorded in 2016 and 2017, leading to cuts in aid programmes and emergency food rations. The report called on governments to reverse funding cuts to humanitarian assistance and data collection to help prevent and manage future food crises.
