Hunger is increasing across the country. India is lagging behind Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal in the world hunger index. A total of 121 countries were published in the 2022 Global Hunger Index. India ranked 107th in that list of 121 countries. No neighboring country is behind India except Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The hunger index is measured on a scale of zero to 100 points. The higher the points, the lower a country falls on the hunger index. China, Turkey, and Kuwait topped the 2022 list with 17 countries receiving a rating of five or less. India's rating on the hunger index is 29.1.
India's decline in hunger index: What is the situation of neighboring countries?
The Global Hunger Index was created in 2021 with a total of 116 countries. In 2021, India's rank was 101. In 2022, India was ranked 107 out of 121 countries. Concern Worldwide, the publisher of the Global Hunger Index, and Welthangerhilfe have identified the level of hunger as 'severe'. The GHI score is based on four component indices. They are - Malnutrition, stunted growth of children, child 'wasting', and child mortality. Child wasting is defined as low weight for height in children under five years of age. The data used for these indicators are taken from various United Nations and other multilateral organizations including UNICEF, World Bank, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Neighboring Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar are ranked 99, 64, 84, 81, and 71 respectively. Everyone is on top of India. Almost all the neighboring countries are ahead of India on the World Hunger Index.
How many people in the country admit to malnutrition?
Various studies have claimed that malnutrition has increased in the country in the last few years. In 2018-20, 14.6 percent of people in India were undernourished. The report says that the rate has increased to 16.3 percent in 2019-21. About 22 crores and 43 lakh people are undernourished in the country. This number is around 83 crores in the world.
Who is lagging behind India?
Countries below India in the Global Hunger Index are Zambia, Afghanistan, Timor-Leste, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Lesotho, Liberia, Niger, Haiti, Chad, Congo, Madagascar, Central African Republic, and Yemen. 15 countries, including Guinea, Mozambique, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria, could not be ranked due to a lack of data. Based on this report, the opposition leaders started criticizing the BJP-led central government. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said India's GHI score has steadily worsened in the eight years of the Modi government since 2014. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the BJP is giving speeches about creating a five trillion economy. But 106 countries are ahead of us in giving at least two meals to people. The central government rejected the 2021 Global Hunger Index report. The Center claimed that these publishing houses did not collect and calculate the data properly. So this report has no basis.