UNGA81 Annual Ministerial Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of LDCs“From Commitments to Impact: Fast-tracking the Doha Programme of Action Implementation and Graduation Progress[...]

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Doha Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is a compact of shared responsibility between LDCs and their development partners.

It calls for coordinated and context-specific action to address the multiple and interconnected challenges faced by LDCs and to advance sustainable development - ensuring that no one is left behind.

While the latest available data shows a slight decrease in global hunger between 2015 and 2025, the situation in LDCs moved in the opposite direction.

Over the same period, hunger in LDCs increased from 19.4 percent to 20.9 percent of its population.

As a result, the undernourished population in LDCs reached 254 million in 2025, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the people facing hunger in the world.

Beyond hunger, the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in LDCs is more than double the global average.

In 2025, 55.6 percent of the LDC population - 675 million people - experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, meaning that they had been forced to decrease the quality and/or quantity of the food they consume.

Moreover, 66.1 percent - or two-thirds of the people - in LDCs cannot afford a healthy diet; this is more than double the global average.

These figures highlight some of the most pressing challenges that LDCs face in achieving sustainable development.

It is in this context that FAO works to provide targeted, evidence-based and tailored solutions to our Members, particularly those most vulnerable.

This approach is at the core of the FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative, in which nearly half of the 87 participating countries are LDCs.

At the annual Hand in Hand Investment Forum, under the umbrella of the World Food Forum, October 16 is famous for World Food Day (WFD), but it is the birthday of FAO.

Members gather annually to showcase their agrifood investment plans to partners, including International Financial Institutions and the private sector, for areas with the highest need and the most agricultural potential identified through geospatial modeling and analytics, and a focus on science, technology and innovation.

FAO's Analytical Support Mechanism for Agrifood System Country Programming and Evidence - SCOPE - provides a key contribution to the UN country programming process.

Thank you.