India fell to 101st rank in Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 of 116 countries, having been at 94th position in 2020.
This rank means India is worse off than Pakistan and Bangladesh who have fared better this term.
India’s GHI score has also decelerated — from 38.8 in 2000 to the range of 28.8 – 27.5 between 2012 and 2021.
The GHI score is calculated on four indicators –undernourishment; child wasting (the share of children under the age of five who are wasted i.e who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition); child stunting (children under the age of five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition) and child mortality (the mortality rate of children under the age of five).
Alarming Hunger in India
The 2021 report, prepared by Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and German organisation Welt Hunger Hilfe, said the level of hunger in India is ‘alarming’.
Neighbouring countries like Nepal (76), Bangladesh (76), Myanmar (71) and Pakistan (92) are also in the ‘alarming’ hunger category, but have fared better at feeding its citizens than India, according to the report.
The share of wasting among children in India rose from 17.1 per cent between 1998-2002 to 17.3 per cent between 2016-2020, according to the report.
Other Countries
Eighteen countries, including China, Brazil and Kuwait, shared the top rank with GHI score of less than five, the website of the Global Hunger Index that tracks hunger and malnutrition said on Thursday.
India’s neighbouring countries, including Nepal (76), Bangladesh (76), Myanmar (71) and Pakistan (92), have also been put in the ‘alarming’ hunger category. But they have all fared better than India when it comes to hunger indicators, as per the report.
For the world as a whole, the fight against hunger is dangerously off track, according to the GHI report. Based on current projections, the world — and 47 countries in particular — will be unable to achieve a low level of hunger by 2030.
