Global Hunger Index – GHI Rank of India 2022, Initiatives, Indicators, GHI UPSC PDF

What is the Global Hunger Index?

The Global Hunger Index is a comprehensive instrument that effectively weighs and traces hunger at different strata. The GHI has been formulated in a way to spread awareness and acknowledge the struggle against hunger. It facilitates a medium to contrast the hunger levels between different countries and regions. It highlights the regions of the world that are in need of supplementary resources for mitigating hunger.

• The Global Hunger Index [GHI] presents the picture of the dire hunger in the world that is causing multiple crises. It ranges from the financial crisis, climate crisis, or pandemic.
• Previously, it was deliberated to attain the target of zero hunger by 2030. However, the scenario now has been reversed, and it has been inert for a while.

Global Hunger Index indicates essentially the development of a country and henceforth frames it to be an important segment of the UPSC syllabus. This topic can be covered in the Current Affairs section as well as the Economy. The questions pertaining to this topic can be asked in both Prelims and Mains exams.

Global Hunger Index 2022

The growth in the Global Hunger Index is considered to be stagnant. This time the GHI score was 18.2 in contrast to the 19.1 witnessed in 2014. It still lies in the “moderate” range. The major factors contributing to the stagnancy of the Global Hunger Index are climate change and conflicts between the countries. The Russia-Ukraine war has led to a surge in the prices of fuels, food, and other essentials.

• India’s rank has further dropped to the position of 107 among 121 countries.
• India has the highest rate of child wasting.
• The rates of child stunting and mortality have declined.
• The prevalence of undernourishment has witnessed a surge.

Global Hunger Index 2022 India Rank

The Government of India has vehemently disapproved of the Global Hunger Index rankings presented. It claimed that the scores of the GHI are distant from the real picture. There are methodical complications in measuring the scores of the Index. It also claimed that it is an effort to blot India’s image and present it as a country not being able to cater to the nutritional requirements. It has also not taken into account the efforts of the Government to ensure food security during the pandemic.

Supplementary Initiatives by India

Since last year India has made a lot of improvements in many indicators. We hope that India will improve its ranking in the GHI in the coming years by launching some more effective schemes.

1. Eat right India Movement: It is an activity organized by India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority. This is launched to encourage people that they should eat right.
2. Poshan Abhiyaan: This activity was launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2018. Its main aim is to reduce diseases like anemia among children, women, and adolescent girls.
3. Food fortification: Food fortification is also known as food enrichment. It is the process of adding vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, and magnesium into our daily diet.
4. National Food Security Act, 2013: This scheme aims to provide subsidized food pulses and grains to the Targeted Public Distribution System.
5. Mission Indradhanush: This mission targets pregnant women and kids under two years.

Global Hunger Index 2021

The Global Hunger Index is published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. The first edition was presented in 2006 and is published since then annually in October.

• The GHI 2021 was the 16th edition of the Index. The primary objective of the Global Hunger Index is to trace the level of hunger globally, in different segments of the world.
• The scoring process of countries in the Global Hunger Index determines the hunger level of countries on a scale of 0 to 100.
• This ranking process works in reverse in this index. The countries scoring the least numbers, like 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., are considered to be the best, having the least hunger in their country. Unlike the countries which fall under the category of “80s, ’90s, and ‘100”, they fall into the worst category in the index.

The data collected for preparing the Global Hunger Index annually is collected from the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the UN Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank.

Global Hunger Index Indicators

The ranking in the Global Hunger Index is given between 0 and 100. The country holding the position between 0 and 10 is considered to be the best in the Global Hunger Index, whereas countries ranked between 80 and 100 are considered to be worst in terms of Global Hunger Index scoring.

The Global Hunger Index judges the hunger index of each country on four parameters, namely:

• Undernourishment: Share of the population with insufficient caloric intake.
• Child wasting: Percentage of children below five years of age who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition.
• Child stunting: Percentage of children below five years of age who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition.
• Child mortality: The mortality rate of children under the age of five.

Learnings from Global Hunger Index 2021

In accordance with the latest GHI projections, the world will not be able to attain a low level of hunger by 2030. The report of the countries having higher levels of hunger has been listed here-

• The pieces of evidence from the report present the complications of hunger and recommends the hurdles ahead.
• The GHI scores present the data that global hunger has been in a declining range since 2000, but the progression is delaying.
• In Africa and South Asia, hunger has been considered a serious problem. Sahara shows the highest rate of undernourishment leading to various complications such as child stunting and child mortality.
• The major factors contributing to the higher levels of hunger are child undernutrition, as calculated by child wasting.
• In some areas of Europe and Central Asia, the level of hunger is in the range of low or moderate which are Latin America, East, and Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, West Asia, and North Africa.
• A few countries have an alarming rate of hunger which are – The Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, and Yemen. Four other countries have also been marked in the alarming range which are, Burundi, Comoros, South Sudan, and Syria. Somalia has also been marked as a country having alarming hunger.

Global Hunger Index 2021 India Rank

India has made superb progress since 2000. However, there are some children running out of nutrition. In 2000, India’s Global Hunger Index score was recorded at 38.8 points. This score has been reduced to 27.5 points in 2021, which is significant progress. The parameters of undernourished children and the mortality rate are relatively low as compared to past times.

On the other hand, child stunting has been marked at 34.7% from 2016 to 2018. Still, the score is on the higher side. According to the Global Hunger Index 2021 report, India is the country after which 15 countries are in line with the war condition.

Government of India GHI 2021 Report

The Government of India has taken significant steps to prove its standing on the Global Hunger Index. According to the Government of India, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has stated that the methodology used by FAO is totally unscientific. The Government of India also highlights that the report published on the Global Hunger Index and FAO has ignored some important facts in it. These facts included that they made the assessment of the result based on a four-question opinion poll conducted telephonically.

They raised this question because, scientifically, undernourishment should be measured with the parameters of measurement of weight and height. Whereas the methodology used by the Global Hunger Index report involved a telephonic poll of the population. Also, the report presented by the Global Hunger Index discarded the efforts made by the Government of India to ensure food security for the population under schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana and Atma Nirbhar Bharat Scheme.

Why India has Dismissed the Global Hunger Index 2021 Ranking?

India disapproved and dismissed the rankings presented in the Global Hunger Index 2021. It questioned the methodology and data sources in computing the GHI scores. It has presented a lower rank of India based on a few assumptions and estimates.

India claimed the FAO methodology to be unscientific and mentioned that the scientific tracking of undernourishment would be in need of measurement of weight and height, The methodology utilized here is on the basis of the Gallup poll. This method is a pure telephonic estimate of the population. India also stated that the report absolutely neglects the efforts made by the government to ensure the security of food during the pandemic.

Causes of Hunger And Malnutrition in India

There are various factors and causes that result in hunger and malnutrition. Hence, it is important that India takes a comprehensive approach to address them. Some of these causes are as follows:

• Poverty: A large percentage of the population in India lives below the poverty line and struggles to make ends meet. Hence, they don’t have access to sufficient food and nutrition, resulting in hunger and malnutrition.
• Lack of education and awareness: Many people in India are not aware of the importance of a balanced diet and proper nutrition, which can lead to malnutrition.
• Gender discrimination: Women and girls in India often have limited access to food and nutrition, as they are often given lower priority in households and communities over the male members.
• Poor sanitation and hygiene: Lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation can lead to the spread of disease, which can further contribute to malnutrition.

Global Hunger Index – A Concern Worldwide

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool used to measure and track hunger levels around the world. Global hunger is a major concern worldwide because it has serious consequences for both individuals and societies as a whole. It is directly proportional to serious conditions like malnutrition and a weakened immune system which are common causes of death in many third-world nations.

In addition, hunger can interfere with children’s ability to learn and limit their future opportunities, leading to poverty. Hence, it can hinder the economic development of a nation and increase the cost of healthcare. The Global Hunger Index is extremely useful as it takes into account different indicators to measure hunger levels in countries around the world. It is also used to raise awareness about the need for action to address the problem of global hunger.

Global Hunger Index UPSC

The Global Hunger Report 2022 is essential for both Prelims and Mains. It is important to be well aware of the topic and the ranking of the countries to make a critical assessment of the report while writing answers. You can download the complete Global Hunger Index Report in PDF format for easy and quick revision at the last moment.

Global Hunger Index UPSC PDF

Global Hunger Index topic is one of the most important and widely asked topics in Prelims. The topic is broadly covered under the GS Paper 2 of the Mains and Current Affairs section of the IAS exam. You can get the study material and UPSC Syllabus to study the Global Hunger Index and other important current affairs topics. Also, you can download the UPSC Previous Year Questions which will help you to get familiar with the type of questions asked in the exam.

MCQ on Global Hunger Index

The candidates can solve the questions to be able to inherit the habit of solving questions in the stipulated time period. The questions will also assist the candidates in tracing and tracking their level of preparation. Check here the list of questions and headstart on the path of attaining perfection in the essential topics.

Question: GHI is calculated on the following indicators: [1]Undernourishment,  [2] Child wasting and stunting, [3] Child Mortality.

Which of the statements above is true? (a) 1 only, (b) 2 only (c) 3 only, (d) All of the above

Answer: (Option D) All of the above Undernourishment, Child wasting and stunting, Child Mortality.

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