Secretary-General's report highlights growing momentum for food systems transformation as countries look to 2030

As governments gather for the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), a new report from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres highlights growing global momentum behind food systems transformation, describing it as an increasingly important driver of progress across the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Released ahead of HLPF, the report Five years after the United Nations Food Systems Summit: progress, gaps and priorities towards 2030 reflects on how the global food systems agenda has evolved since the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit. It concludes that countries are increasingly embedding food systems into national development strategies and using them to tackle interconnected challenges including food security, nutrition, climate change, biodiversity, livelihoods and economic resilience.

The report notes that 130 countries have now developed national food systems transformation pathways, supported by a growing network of National Convenors, while 39 countries have already updated those pathways into more detailed implementation plans. It also highlights expanding country reporting and sustained engagement across governments, UN entities, civil society, research institutions, and the private sector.

Much of that momentum has been sustained through the regular global Stocktakes convened in 2023 and 2025, together with annual regional progress reviews that bring countries together to share experiences, identify common challenges and strengthen collaboration. According to the report, these processes have helped maintain food systems as a prominent part of the international sustainable development agenda while ensuring that countries continue learning from one another as national priorities evolve.

The Secretary-General's report also highlights the role of the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub in supporting this global effort. Since its establishment in 2022, the Hub has helped strengthen coordination across the UN system and a wider ecosystem of partners, while supporting countries as they develop and advance their national food systems pathways. Through global and regional convenings, sustained engagement with National Convenors, and collaboration across governments, development partners, civil society including youth, research institutions and the private sector, the Hub has helped maintain continuity between global processes and country-level priorities.

Food systems transformation is unfolding against a backdrop of rising debt burdens, tightening fiscal space and overlapping crises. Yet even in this challenging environment, the report identifies finance mobilization as one of the strongest areas of progress. Even as official development assistance declines, catalytic investments are beginning to unlock larger flows of public and private financing.

Among these is the Joint SDG Fund's Food Systems Transformation Window, established with the support of the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub. Since its launch in 2024, the initiative has invested USD32 million across two funding rounds, bringing together 14 UN entities under Resident Coordinators in 26 countries. Those programmes are expected to mobilize more than USD360 million in additional financing from governments, international financial institutions, national banks, and private sector partners by 2027.

The report also highlights the latest round of investment-focused programmes launched in 2026, including work in Cameroon, where support is helping strengthen national financing architecture, de-risk investment and build new partnerships that can expand financing for sustainable food systems over the coming years.

Despite these positive developments, the report makes clear that the global context has become more challenging. Conflict, climate shocks, economic uncertainty, trade disruptions and shrinking development assistance are placing additional pressure on countries, particularly those already facing food insecurity and high levels of debt. At the same time, the Secretary-General argues that food systems offer one of the strongest opportunities to address these interconnected challenges through more coordinated policies, stronger partnerships and greater investment.

Looking ahead, the report calls for continued investment in country-led solutions, stronger governance, inclusive partnerships and responsible innovation. It also emphasizes the importance of maintaining political momentum through regular global and regional engagement, ensuring that food systems remain central to efforts to accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals in the years leading to 2030.