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Context: India ranked 111th out of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2023. India’s score of 28.7 indicates a serious level of hunger in the country.

Global Hunger Index

About

• Global Hunger Index (GHI) is an annual report published by European NGOs Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. The report aims to measure and track hunger globally, regionally, and by country.
• It was first created in 2006 and was initially a collaboration between the US-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the German organization Welthungerhilfe.
  • In 2007, the Irish NGO Concern Worldwide joined as a co-publisher. Subsequently, in 2018, IFPRI withdrew from the project, and the GHI became a joint effort of Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide.

Methodology

• The GHI employs a multidimensional approach, incorporating four key indicators to calculate a numerical score on a 100-point scale:
  • Undernourishment: This indicator reflects the share of the population with insufficient caloric intake.
  • Child Stunting: It represents the share of children under the age of five who have low height for their age, indicating chronic undernutrition.
  • Child Wasting: This indicator signifies the share of children under the age of five who have low weight for their height, indicating acute undernutrition.
  • Child Mortality: It reflects the share of children who die before their fifth birthday, influenced by factors such as inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments.
• The GHI score provides a comprehensive overview of a country's hunger situation. The scores are categorized into different levels of severity, ranging from low to extremely alarming. A score of 0 indicates the absence of hunger, while a higher score signifies a more severe hunger situation.
• The GHI serves as a vital tool for policymakers, researchers, and organizations, offering valuable insights into the global hunger situation and guiding efforts to combat hunger, improve nutrition, and promote food security worldwide.

Global Hunger Index-2023 ●Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Chile, China, and Croatia are among the top performers in the index. ●Chad, Niger, Lesotho, Congo, Yemen, Madagascar, and the Central African Republic are ranked at the bottom of the index.

Key points related to India in the Global Hunger Index-2023

• India ranked 111th out of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index-2023. This means that India is facing a serious level of hunger.
  • South Asia and Africa South of the Sahara were noted as the world regions with the highest hunger levels, with a GHI score of 27 each, indicating a serious level of hunger.
• India reported the highest child-wasting rate in the world, at 18.7%. Child wasting refers to acute undernutrition and is measured based on a child's weight relative to their height.
• Several of India's neighbouring countries performed better in the GHI-2023. Pakistan was ranked 102nd, Bangladesh 81st, Nepal 69th, and Sri Lanka 60th in the index.
• The rate of undernourishment in India stood at 16.6 percent, and the under-five mortality rate was 3.1 percent, both of which are important indicators of hunger and child well-being.
• The report also highlighted the high prevalence of anaemia in women aged between 15 and 24 years in India, with a rate of 58.1 percent. Anaemia can be related to nutritional deficiencies and has significant health implications.

Conclusion

• The 2023 Global Hunger Index showed that despite progress in previous years, the fight against hunger worldwide has stagnated. The global GHI score for 2023 was 18.3, considered moderate and slightly lower than the 2015 score of 19.1. Since 2017, the prevalence of undernourishment has been on the rise, with the number of undernourished people increasing from 572 million to about 735 million.

Must Read Articles:

HUNGER HOTSPOTS: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/hunger-hotspots

CHILD MALNUTRITION: JOINT CHILD MALNUTRITION ESTIMATES: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/child-malnutrition-joint-child-malnutrition-estimates

MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX (MPI): https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/multidimensional-poverty-index-mpi

PRACTICE QUESTION Q. What are the major challenges faced by India in addressing the issues of hunger and poverty, and what strategies could be implemented to effectively alleviate these problems and improve the living conditions of millions of vulnerable populations in the country?