Global Hunger Index ranking of India 2022:
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool that measures and tracks hunger globally as well as by region and by country in children under age of 5 years, prepared by two European NGOs" Concern Worldwide" and "Welt hunger hilfe".Both are highly reputed contemporary organizations. Welt hunger hilfe was established in 1962 and it is based in Germany.Cocern worldwide was established in 1968.The goal of these two organisations is Zero hunger in world by 2030.These NGOs declare Global hunger index every year.These NGOS have allotted 4.46 billion dollars in 10000 projects world wide.
The GHI is calculated annually, and its results appear in a report issued in October each year.
The following four indicators are used for children under age of 5 years to decide GHI of a particular country.
(1) Malnutrition or undernutrition. It forms 1/3 rd of GHI score.
(2) Children stunting. It forms 1/6 th of GHI score.
(3) Children wasting. It forms 1/6 th of GHI score.
(4) Children mortality It forms 1/3 rd of GHI score.
GHI Scores is classified in five categories as follows;
(1)Low : 9.9
(2)Moderate :10 - 19.9
(3)Serious: 20-34.9
(4)Alarming :39-49.9
(5)Extremely alarming:50 or >50
On the basis of GHI score 2022 India is categorised as serious.This year in 2022 the GHI score of India is 29.9 means in serious category. Out of 121 countries India is at 107 th position in GHI. It is considered an attempt to tarnish India's image.
Asian countries:GHI 2022
Nepal:82
Shree Lanka:64
Bangladesh:84
Afghanistan:109
Afghanistan ruled by Taliban is trailing behind India.Its shameful.
The index is jointly released by Concern Worldwide and Welt hunger hilfe every October. The Hunger Index measures countries' performance on four component indicators – undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting and child mortality.
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels. With a score of 29.1, the level of hunger in India has been labelled “serious”. In Asia, Afghanistan with a rank of 109 is the only country behind India.The latest UN Hunger Hotspots report highlights Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen as the countries with the highest levels of hunger
Calculation of the global hunger index ;
The GHI is calculated based on four key indicators to gauge and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels. “The problem of hunger is complex"
Many factors are taken in consideration
(1) Calorie deficiency to measure nutrient intake
(2) Food access:whether child is able to access the food.
(3) Nutritional status in poor section
(4) Illness, diseases and cognitive development
(5) Mortality rate.
(I) Under 5 years Children mortality in India
Year : % mortality
2000: 9.2%
2007: 6.8%
2014: 4.6%
2021: 3.3%
So we can say that there is an improvement in children mortality rate in India by 2022.
(II) %stunting in Children under 5 years in India:
Year : % stunting
1998-2002: 54.2%
2005-2009: 47.8%
2012-2016: 38.7%
2017-2021: 35.5%
So we can say that there is an improvement in children stunting rate in India by 2022.
(III)%Undernourishment or malnutrition in Children below age of 5 years in India
Year : % undernourishment
2000-2002: 18.4%
2006-2008: 17.5%
2013-2015: 14.8%
2019-2021: 16.3%
So we can say that there is % of undernourished population of children under age of 5 years has gone up in India by 2022.
(IV)wasting % meaning weighing less for their height in Children below age of 5 years in India
Year : %Wasting
1998-2002: 17.1%
2005-2009: 20.0%
2012-2016: 15.1%
2017-2021: 19.3%
So we can say that there is % of wasting population of children under age of 5 years has gone up in India by 2022.
Looking at above data,we can say that under nourishment or malnutrition and child wasting are more serious problems faced by India compared to child mortality and child stunting.
The reasons for low ranking of India for GHI are as follows:
(1)Poor access to health
care facilities
(2)Inadequate caring and feeding practices
(3)Poor food security
(4)Lack of sanitation facilities
(5)Poor diet
(6) Prone to infections and diseases.
Contention of Government of India against poor ranking
(1) Consistent efforts to tarnish India 's image.
(2) Misinformation is hallmark of the methodology
(3)The indicators focus on only children below five years.Rest age groups are not taken in consideration.
(4)The small survey size was too small to draw statistically significant conclusion.
(5) Government assistance provided to citizens is neglected.
Aids provided by Indian government includes:
(1) Food supplied to over 80 crores citizens.
(2) Supplementary nutrition of 1.78 crores women.
(3)7.7 crore kids are benefited by Aanganwadi scheme.
(4) Monetary help of rupees five thousand to 1.5 crore new women at the time of baby's birth.
However the researchers say that rank could be still lowering government had not stepped in and not provided the aforementioned help to citizens during Covid pandemic.
However type of nutrition is important.There was 40% malnutrition in children under age of 5 years.1:3 Children below 5 years were stunted.
The percentage of stunted children under age of 5 years was 35.5% . The 4% GDP and 8% production were impacted due to children malnutrition.
The steps suggested to improve the ranking in GHI in coming years are as follows:
(1) Give up persecution complex
(2) Ensure high standards of nutrition.
(3) Improve expedition in terms of GDP on health .
(4) The report of GHI must be studied and analysed seriously.
(5) Take necessary steps to improve nutrition and health care facilities to poor citizens particularly children.
(6) We need to educate citizens about nutrition and health care.
Problem of wasting in India and worldwide and its consequences:
India has 57,72,472 children below five years affected by severe wasting — the most common in the world, alerted UNICEF. (May 2022 child alert). Severe wasting is defined as low weight for height.
More than 13.6 million( one crore 36 lakh) children globally are affected by this most visible and lethal type of malnutrition, UNICEF added. “One out of every five deaths in children under five is due to severe wasting.”
The UNICEF statement said:
"Children who are severely wasted succumb to those diseases because their bodies provide virtually no protection or immunity against the bacteria, virus or fungi that infect them. They die because their digestive systems can no longer absorb nutrients. A severely wasted child is reduced to the most basic bodily functions. It takes all their energy just to keep breathing".
Severe wasting in a child can increase the risk of dying by pneumonia by 11 times, and essentially makes otherwise common diseases fatal.The condition, however, is preventable and curable.
Self sufficiency of India:
India witnessed the Green Revolution when a set of research technologies were used to increase agricultural production. India began to meet the food grain requirements of its population, thus making it self-sufficient.
India is the world's largest producer of milk, pulses and jute, and ranks as the second largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, groundnut, vegetables, fruits and cotton. It is also one of the leading producers of spices, fish, poultry, livestock and plantation crops.The country annually imports more than Rs 100,000 crore of edible oils and pulses and the dependency, particularly in edible oils, is rising.
India depends on imports for edible oils and pulses. It is largely self-sufficient in the case of foodgrain and several other items such as milk, fruits and vegetables. The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has said that India, apart from being self sufficient in food production, has the capacity to meet the food requirements of a large part of the world.India is the world's largest producer of milk, pulses and jute, and ranks as the second largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, groundnut, vegetables, fruit and cotton. It is also one of the leading producers of spices, fish, poultry, livestock and plantation crops.In short, India has transformed from a food-deficit state to a food-surplus one 75 years after independence. However, the government must adopt environmental friendly measures to sustain this achievement.
As the population of the globe surges past 6 billion, India is on the verge of surpassing China as the world's most populous nation. For at least two centuries India has struck many Westerners as a place that is over-populated, famine-prone, and, as a result, a threat to global stability. In terms of total calorie content, India is the second-largest food producer in the world after China.Considerable investments in agriculture have enabled China's farmers to produce high volumes of staple crops, allowing the country to achieve a roughly one-to-one ratio of production and consumption of grains.
Indian government should invest considerably in agriculture to increase production of grains and pulses.
Information compiled by:
Dr. Bhairavsinh Raol
