2026 Price Shocks Report: The Affordability Crisis Moving Nutritious Diets Out of Reach
Millions of children and families around the world are struggling to afford basic food, as rising costs, conflict and climate shocks push nutritious diets further out of reach.
World Vision's 2026 Price Shocks Report reveals stark inequalities in food affordability across the world, warning that millions of children's health, education and futures are at risk.
Now in its fifth year, the report examines food affordability across 62 countries, comparing the cost of a standard basket of 10 basic food items against average earnings to understand how long people must work to afford everyday essentials.
The findings reveal a deeply unequal picture. In some of the world's most vulnerable countries, workers need days or even weeks of earnings to afford a basic basket of food, leaving families facing impossible choices between food and other essential needs.
A deepening global food affordability crisis
For millions of families, putting nutritious food on the table is becoming an increasingly difficult challenge.
World Vision's research found that workers in the Central African Republic, the least affordable country in the study, would need approximately 30 days of earnings to purchase a standard basket of 10 basic food items.
In Somalia, the same basket would require 11.3 days of earnings, compared with 7.3 days in Uganda, with both countries ranking among the 11 least affordable in the study.
The findings highlight a wider global crisis, with healthy diets remaining unaffordable for approximately one in three people worldwide.
Key findings from the 2026 report
- 62 countries participated in World Vision's fifth annual food basket survey.
- 30.1 days of work are needed to afford a basic food basket in the Central African Republic.
- One in three people globally cannot afford a healthy diet.
- 33 out of 47 countries with comparable data experienced increases in food basket costs between 2024 and 2026.
- 35.5 million children were acutely malnourished worldwide in 2025, including nearly 10 million experiencing severe acute malnutrition.
Although global hunger levels have shown modest improvements, the findings demonstrate that nutritious food remains out of reach for millions of vulnerable families.
Download the 2026 Price Shocks Report
The findings of this year's report are a powerful reminder that, while progress towards ending global hunger is possible, millions of children and families remain at risk.
At a time of growing humanitarian needs and climate uncertainty, protecting access to nutritious food is essential not only for children's survival today, but also for their health, education and futures.
Explore the full findings, country comparisons, personal stories and recommendations in World Vision's 2026 Price Shocks Report.