(Daily News Scan - DNS English) Global Hunger Index 2020
The Global Hunger INDEX 2020 was released on 16 October. In this year’s Index India is ranked at 94 among 107 countries. According to the report India has a score of 27.2, which leads to the level of hunger which is considered to be “serious”. Previously in 2019, India was at 102 rank among 117 countries.
In this DNS, we will discuss about the GHI and measures taken by India to reduce the level of hunger in the country.
Let us first begin by talking about in detail the Global hunger index. The Global Hunger Index is an annually published report. It is jointly published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. This report is designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels.
The Global hunger Index was first published in 2006. The 2020 edition of the Index is 15 th in the series. As per its website, the GHI scores are calculated each year to assess progress and setbacks in combating hunger.
It is calculated on the basis of four indicators — undernourishment,
Child wasting, the share of children under the age of five who are
wasted (that is, who have low weight for their height, reflecting
acute under nutrition);
Child stunting, children under the age of five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic under nutrition;
And child mortality, the mortality rate of children under the age of five.
As we mentioned above, the report mentions India’s ranking among 107 countries is 94 this year. Its neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan have secured a little better ranking with 73, 75 and 88 respectively.
Only 13 countries out of 107 this year have performed worse than India, which include – Nigeria, Afghanistan, Mozambique among others.
The report also mentions that 14 percent of the Indian population is under nourished. The country has also recorded a child stunting rate of 37.4 per cent.
Some key findings of the report –
- The child stunting rate, for age group 0-5 years, in India has been reported 37.4 %.
- Wasting in child was reported as 17.3 %.
- Undernourishment rate of India is 14%.
- The child mortality rate is 3.7 %.
The report also mentions that, the data from 1991 through 2014 for Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan showed, stunting is concentrated among children. The reason behind stunting is households facing multiple forms of deprivation, including poor dietary diversity, low levels of maternal education, and household poverty.
In many countries the situation is improving very slowly, while in others it is worsening.
For 46 countries belonging to moderate, serious, or alarming categories, GHI scores have improved since 2012, but for 14 countries in those categories, GHI scores show that hunger and under nutrition have worsened.
The latest GHI projections reveal that 37 countries will fail to achieve even low hunger by 2030.
Some of the Initiatives taken by India to battle hunger –
Poshan Abhiyan– Launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It aims to reduce stunting, under nutrition and anaemia.
EAT Right India Movement– This initiative was organised by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for citizens to push them towards eating right.
Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana- A centre sponsored scheme executed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It is a maternity benefit programme being implemented in all districts of the country with effect from 1st January, 2017.
National Food Security Act, 2013- The National Food Security Act, (NFSA) 2013 legally entitled up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to receive subsidized food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System.
