New Delhi, Oct 17: India was ranked 94th among 107 countries on the Global Hunger Index 2020, below Nepal (73), Bangladesh (75) and Pakistan (88). With a GHI score of 27.2, levels of hunger in India fall under the ‘serious’ category, the report, which was released on Friday, stated.
Four parameters to calculate GHI score
The GHI report, which reflects data from 2015-19, was jointly prepared by Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide. GHI values are determined by four indicators – undernourishment (share of population whose caloric intake is not sufficient), child wasting (children, below the age of five, who have low weight for their height), child stunting (children, below the age of five, who have low height for their weight) and child mortality (mortality rate of children below the age of five).
The report states that the rate of child stunting in India is 37.4 per cent, child wasting is 17.3 per cent, undernourishment is 14 per cent and child mortality is 3.7 per cent. While these three factors have improved over the past few years, child wasting has worsened. Also, it is noteworthy, that child wasting, along with child stunting, contributes to a third of India’s GHI score.
Zero hunger goal’s future
“Given the current trajectory, the goal of achieving Zero Hunger by 2030 will not be fully achieved. This likelihood is evident even before factoring in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is already reducing food and nutrition security around the world, with additional effects expected into the future,” the report stated.
Countries behind India on GHI 2020
The countries that feature behind India are Korea (96), Rwanda (97), Nigeria (98), Afghanistan (99), Lesotho (100), Sierra Leone (101, Liberia (102), Mozambique (103), Chad (107) among others.
