Context:
India ranked 111th out of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2023 (18th edition), a stark decline from its 107th position in 2022.
About GHI:
- 1st introduced in 2006.
- Annually published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
- 4 component indicators –
- Undernourishment based on caloric intake
- Child (under age five) stunting based on height
- Child (under age five) wasting based on weight
- Child mortality (before age five)
- Scoring – 100-point scale (where 0 is the best (no hunger) and 100 is the worst)
| Do You Know?? In 2006, the Global Hunger Index (GHI) was first published by two organizations, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) based in the United States and Welthungerhilfe based in Germany. In 2007, Concern Worldwide, a non-governmental organization from Ireland, joined as a partner to publish the GHI. Then, in 2018, IFPRI withdrew from its role in the project, and the GHI became a joint effort between Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide. |
Key Highlights of 2023 Report:
- Index Score: With a score of 28.7, the GHI finds the level of hunger in India “serious’’.
- India’s GHI score has decreased from alarming (in 2000) to serious (in 2023).
- Child wasting: Indicating undernourishment in the country is 18.7%, the highest in the world.
- Comparison: India’s neighbours such as Nepal (69), Bangladesh (81), Pakistan (102) and Sri Lanka (60) have got higher rankings in GHI.
Government of India faults methodology. Why?
- Ministry of Women and Child Development said that index is an erroneous measure of hunger and suffers from serious methodological issues.
- 3 out of 4 indicators used for the calculation of the index are related to the health of children and cannot be representative of the entire population.
- The methodology used is unscientific. Government has highlighted that their assessment is on the results of a ‘four question’ opinion poll, was conducted telephonically and is unreliable.
- Estimate of Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population is based on an opinion poll conducted on a very small sample size of 3000 based on “Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)” Survey Module.
Exploring Terms
- Undernutrition: When children don’t eat or absorb enough nutrients to grow
- Stunting: A form of undernutrition when populations of children are too short for their age
- Wasting: An extreme form of undernutrition when a child is too thin for his or her height
- Hidden Hunger: When children don’t get enough essential vitamins and minerals
- Food Desert (Food Swamp): As area or neighbourhood where there are few or no healthy food choices
- Overweight: When a child’s weight is too high for his or her height
- Food Systems: All the elements and activities involved in the production, processing, distribution, preparation and consumption of food
- Obesity: The most severe form of overweight
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Which of the following is/are the indicator/indicators used by IFPRI to compute the Global Hunger Index Report?
1. Undernourishment
2. Child stunting
3. Child mortality
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2016 Prelims]
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 3 only
Answer: (d)
