India has slipped to 101st position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 of 116 countries, from its 2020 position of 94th
Important points:
- Jointly published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
- It was first produced in 2006. It is published every October. The 2021 edition marks the 16th edition of the GHI.
- To comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels.
It is calculated on the basis of four indicators:
- Undernourishment
- Child Wasting.
- Child Stunting
- Child Mortality
Scoring:
- Based on the values of the four indicators, the GHI determines hunger on a 100-point scale where 0 is the best possible score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst.
- Each country’s GHI score is classified by severity, from low to extremely alarming.
- Undernourishment data are provided by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and child mortality data are sourced from the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).
- Child wasting and stunting data are drawn from the joint database of UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, among others.
Indian Scenario
- Since 2000, India has made substantial progress, but there are still areas of concern, particularly regarding child nutrition.
- India’s GHI score has decreased from a 2000 GHI score of 38.8 points – considered alarming – to a 2021 GHI score of 27.5 – considered serious.
- The proportion of undernourished in the population and the under-five child mortality rate are now at relatively low levels.
- While child stunting has seen a significant decrease – from 54.2% in 1998-1999 to 34.7% in 2016-2018 – it is still considered very high.
- At 17.3%, India has the highest child wasting rate of all countries covered in the GHI. This rate is slightly higher than it was in 1998-1999, when it was 17.1%.
- According to the Index, only 15 countries fare worse than India.
- India was also behind most of the neighbouring countries. Pakistan was placed at 92, Nepal and Bangladesh at 76 and Sri Lanka at 65.
SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT