Hunger in India

Dr. Parveen Kumar
India is in ‘serious’ category according to Global Hunger Index 2020 and is heading for a serious trouble. The country has been ranked 94th out of the 107 countries with sufficient data to calculate 2020 GHI scores. Last year, India’s rank was 102 out of 117 countries. With a score of 27.2, India has a level of hunger that is ‘serious’. The country continues to be a victim of hunger, malnutrition, infant mortality, stunting, wasting and other related health parameters. The latest findings of Global Hunger Index (GHI) report 2020 has authenticated this. The Global Hunger Index data for the country showed that 14 per cent of India’s population was undernourished. Besides, the country recorded a 37.4 per cent stunting rate among children under five and a wasting rate of 17.3 per cent. The under-five mortality rate stood at 3.7 per cent. It is also important to note that India’s score on GHI Index in 2020 is an improvement as compared to 38.9 in 2000, 37.5 in 2006 and 29.3 in 2012. It is here pertinent to mention that the Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels. The Global Hunger Index scores are based on the values of four component indicators viz. (i). undernourishment (share of the population with insufficient caloric intake), (ii) Child wasting i. e share of children under age of five who have low weight for their height reflecting acute under nutrition) (iii) Child stunting i. e share of children under age five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic under nutrition and (iv) Child mortality which is a measure of the mortality rate of children under age of five, partly reflecting the fatal mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environment. Seventeen nations, including China, Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba and Kuwait, bagged the top rank with GHI scores of less than five.
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. Countries with GHI score less than or equal to 9.9 are classified as having low levels of hunger, countries with score of 10.0 to 19.9 are referred to as with moderate levels of hunger, those with score of 20.0 to 34.9 have been classified as having serious levels of hunger, countries with a score of 35.0 to 49.9 having alarming level of hunger and countries with a score of more than 50 have been designated as the countries with extremely alarming levels of hunger. For the 2020 GHI report, data were assessed for 132 countries but sufficient data was available to calculate GHI scores for only 107 countries to rank them. For about 25 countries, individual scores could not be calculated and ranks could not be arrived at due to lack of data. Countries that scored identically were given the same ranking as North Macedonia and the Russian Federation are both ranked 18th. The Global
Hunger Index 2020 report also exposed the vulnerability of the human population to various types of nutritional deficiencies and disorders. Far too many individuals are suffering from hunger and under nutrition, nearly 690 million people are undernourished and 144 million children suffer from stunting, a sign of chronic under nutrition; 47 million children suffer from wasting, a sign of acute under nutrition. The worst thing was that in the year 2018 only, 5.3 million children died before their fifth birthdays, in many cases as a result of under nutrition. Data from 1991 through 2014 for Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan showed that stunting is concentrated among children from households facing multiple forms of deprivation including poor dietary diversity, low levels of maternal education and household poverty.
However, worldwide hunger is at a moderate level, according to the 2020 Global Hunger Index. The report also came up with the various underlying challenges in particular regions, countries, and communities. At the regional level Africa South of the Sahara and South Asia have the highest hunger and under nutrition levels among world regions, with 2020 GHI scores of 27.8 and 26.0, respectively both considered serious. According to 2020 GHI scores, 3 countries have alarming levels of hunger Chad, Timor-Leste, and Madagascar. Hunger is also considered to be alarming in eight countries Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen based on provisional categorizations. The world is not on track to achieve the second Sustainable Development Goal known as Zero Hunger for short by 2030. At the current pace, approximately 37 countries will fail even to reach low hunger, as defined by the GHI Severity Scale, by 2030. Furthermore, these projections do not account for the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may worsen hunger and under nutrition in the near term and affect countries’ trajectories into the future. Within their borders, countries show wide disparities in a range of different indicators of hunger and along several lines such as wealth, location, ethnicity, and sex.
The Global Hunger Index 2020 ranking has come at a time when the whole world is fighting the Corona Pandemic and food production systems of many countries have been severely hit. This has ultimately hit the food and nutritional security of individuals. India has been ranked below its neighboring countries. Even Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan ranked higher than India in this year’s hunger index. While Bangladesh ranked 75, Myanmar and Pakistan are in the 78th and 88th position. This must come as a shock to all of us. While our food grains production has been at a record high; prevalence of stunting, wasting and hunger in the country might disturb all of us.
While we have ensured food security for all our citizens, it is time now to stress on nutritional security of our population through awareness and promotion of nutritionally rich food products. This will only then ensure that the incidence of stunting and wasting are reduced; maternal and infant mortality rates come down to the lowest level, none goes to bed hungry and every one leads a healthy life.
(The author is a Scientist at KVK-Leh)
feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com

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