Global hunger Index 2021

Global hunger Index 2021

News: India has slipped to 101st position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 position of 94th.

Global Hunger Index:
• It is an annual Report Jointly published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
• It was first produced in 2006. It is published every October. The 2021 edition marks the 16th edition of the GHI.
• It aimsto comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels.
• It is calculated on the basis of four indicators:
• Undernourishment: Share of the population with insufficient caloric intake.
• Child Wasting: Share of children under age five who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition.
• Child Stunting: Share of children under age five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition.
• Child Mortality: The mortality rate of
• Based on the values of the four indicators, the GHI determines hunger on a 100 best possible score (no hunger) and 100 is the low to extremely alarming.
• Undernourishment data are provided by the are sourced from the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).
• Child wasting and stunting data are drawn from the Organization (WHO) and the World Bank

Global Scenario:
• The fight against hunger is dangerously off track. and 47 countries in particular - wi
• Food security is under assault on multiple fronts. global climate change, and the economic and health challenges associated with the Covid all driving hunger.After decades of decline, the global prevalence of undernourishment the Global Hunger Index - is increasing. of hunger.
• Inequality - between regions, countries, districts, and communities keep the world from achieving the
• Africa, South of the Sahara and South Asia are the world regions where hung both regions is considered serious.

Indian Scenario
• Since 2000, India has made substantial progress, but there are still areas of concern, perticularly regarding child nutrition.India’s GHI score has decreased from a 2000 GHI score of 38.8 points - considered alarming -  to a 2021 GHI score of 27.5 - considered serious.The proportion of undernourished in the population and  the under-five child mortality rate are now at relatively low levels.While child stunting has seen a significant decrease - from 54.2% in 1998-1999 to 34.7% in 2016-2018 - it is still considered very high.
• At 17.3%, India has the highest child wasting rate of all countries covered in the GHI. This rate is slightly higher than it was in 1998-1999, when it was 17.1%.According to the Index, only 15 countries fare worse than India.India was also behind most of the neighbouring countries. Pakistan was placed at 92, Nepal and Bangladesh at 76 and Sri Lanka at 65.
• The Ministry of Women and Child Development has criticised the report claiming that the methodology
used by FAO is unscientific.According to the Government, the Global Hunger Index Report 2021 and FAO report on ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021’ have completely ignored the following facts:
• They have based their assessment on the results of a ‘four question’ opinion poll, which was conducted telephonically by Gallup.
• The scientific measurement of undernourishment would require measurement of weight and Height, whereas the methodology involved here is based on a Gallup poll, based on a pure telephonic estimate of the population.
• The report completely disregards Government’s massive effort to ensure food security of the entire population during the Covid period such as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna (PMGKAY) and Atmanirbhar Bharat Scheme (ANBS).