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Global Hunger Index 2022: India slips to 107th spot; behind Pakistan, Bangladesh

According to the Global Hunger Index website, which tracks hunger and malnutrition, seventeen countries, including China, Turkey, and Kuwait, shared the top spot with a GHI score of less than five.

Global Hunger Index 2022: India slips to 107th spot; behind Pakistan, Bangladesh - adt
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First Published Oct 15, 2022, 10:44 AM IST

India has dropped to 107th out of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2022 from 101st in 2021, trailing its neighbours Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

Seventeen countries, including China, Turkey, and Kuwait, shared the top spot with a GHI score of less than five, according to the Global Hunger Index website, which tracks hunger and malnutrition.

Citing the report, Congress MP P Chidambaram said our score has deteriorated since 2014, during the eight years of the Narendra Modi-led government.

"When the Hon'ble Prime Minister will address real issues like malnutrition, hunger, stunting, and wasting among children?" Chidambaram tweeted.

 

 

The report, prepared jointly by the Irish aid organisation Concern Worldwide and the German organisation Welt Hunger Hilfe, described India's hunger as 'serious.'

India was ranked 101st out of 116 countries in 2021. It is now ranked 107th out of 121 countries on the list. The GHI score for India has also declined, from 38.8 in 2000 to 28.2, 29.1 between 2014 and 2022.

Last year the government slammed the report, calling it 'shocking' and 'devoid of ground reality' after India dropped below the 100th rank. According to the government, the methodology used to calculate the Global Hunger Index is unscientific.

The government statement read, "It is shocking to learn that India's ranking in the Global Hunger Report 2021 has been lowered based on FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization) estimates of the proportion of the undernourished population, which are devoid of ground reality and facts and to suffer from serious methodological issues. The Global Hunger Report's publishing agencies, Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, did not conduct adequate research before releasing the report." 

"FAO's methodology is unscientific. They based their assessment on the results of a 'four-question' opinion poll conducted by Gallup over the phone. There is no scientific method for measuring malnutrition, such as the availability of food grains per capita during the period. Weight and height measurements would be required for the scientific measurement of malnutrition. In contrast, the methodology used here is based on a Gallup poll based on a pure telephonic estimate of the population," It added.

Welt Hunger Hilfe refuted New Delhi's claim that India's drop in the rankings was due to a Gallup poll.

The GHI score is based on four indicators, undernourishment, child wasting (the proportion of children under the age of five who are wasted, i.e. have low weight for their height, indicating acute undernutrition); child stunting (children under the age of five who have low height for their age, indicating chronic undernutrition); and child mortality (the child mortality rate under the age of five).

Also Read: Global Hunger Index 2021: India slips to 101st spot

Also Read: Flawed, devoid of ground reality: India rubbishes Global Hunger Report 2021

Also Read: IIT-Bombay students threaten to go on hunger strike from August 6 over fee hike

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