India ranks 111th out of the 125 countries with a score of 28.7 in Global Hunger Index(GHI) 2023. India slipped 4 positions as compared to previous GHI ranking.
- In 2022, India ranked 107 out of 121 countries. In 2021, it was placed at 101 out of 116 countries.
Top performers:
In GHI 2023, 20 countries with 2023 GHI scores of less than 5 are not assigned individual ranks, They are collectively ranked 1–20. These 20 countries are:
- Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Chile, China, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates(UAE), and Uruguay.
About GHI:
i. GHI is a peer-reviewed annual report, designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels.
- It is jointly published by the international humanitarian organisation Concern Worldwide and Germany-based Wel thungerhilfe with the aim to trigger action to reduce hunger around the world.
- It was first published in 2006.
Methodology of the Assessment:
i.The GHI score is based on a formula which combines four indicators that together capture the multi-dimensional nature of hunger which includes
- Undernourishment: It is the share of the population whose caloric intake is insufficient.
- Child stunting: It is the share of children under the age of five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition.
- Child wasting: It is the share of children under the age of five who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition.
- Child mortality: It is the share of children who pass away before turning five, which partly reflects the fatal mix of poor nutrition and unsafe environments.
ii.The GHI scores are on a 100-point scale, where 0 is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst(high level of hunger).
iii.The share of indicators in the GHI scores is Undernourishment(1/3), Child stunting (1/6), Child wasting (1/6), and Child mortality (1/3).
iv.The data used for the indicators have been sourced from various UN (United Nations) and other multilateral agencies, including United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF),Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Note:
The 2000, 2008, and 2015 GHI scores are the only data used for valid comparisons over time.
GHI 2023 Ranking:
i.As per the GHI Severity of Hunger Scale, the country’s score in the range of 20.0–34.9 indicates that has a serious level of hunger. So with a score of 28.7, India has a level of hunger that is serious.
ii.The GHI 2023 shows that 9 countries are in the ‘alarming’ category, 34 countries are in the ‘serious’ category, 37 countries are in the ‘moderate’ category and 50 countries in the ‘low’ category.
India’s Scenario:
i.India’s Performance in the Four Indicators:
- child wasting: India has the highest child wasting rate of 18.7 percent in the world, which reflects acute undernutrition.
- Undernourishment: India showed improvement in the Undernourishment score from 18.3 in 2000 to 16.6 in 2023.
- Child Stunting and Mortality: India reduced its child mortality rate from 9.2 in 2000 to 3.1 in 2023.while India made a huge improvement in child stunning rate from 51.0 in 2000 to 35.5 in 2023.
ii.India’s score in GHI was on the improving path between 2000 and 2015, with its score improving from 38.4 in 2000 to 35.5 in 2008 and 29.2 in 2015.
- But over the past eight years between 2015 and 2023, India has advanced on the GHI score by only 0.5 points from 29.2 to 28.7.
iii.The ranks of India’s neighbouring countries are Pakistan (102th), Bangladesh (81st), Nepal (69th), and Sri Lanka (60th).
Global Scenario:
i.The global score of GHI 2023 is 18.3 which is 0.8 less compared to 19.1 in 2015 and the global hunger level is considered as ‘moderate’
ii.The global share of undernourished people has risen from 7.5% in 2017 to 9.2% (About 735 million) in 2022.
iii.Afghanistan (114), Haiti(115) and 12 sub-Saharan countries perform worse than India on the GHI 2023.
Region Wise Scenario:
i.South Asia and Africa South of the Sahara are the world regions with the highest hunger levels, with GHI scores of 27.0 each, indicating serious hunger.
- Africa South of the Sahara has the highest level of undernourishment of 21.7 percent compared to other regions and also has the highest child mortality rate of 7.4 percent.
ii.West Asia and North Africa is the region with the third-highest hunger level with a score of 11.9 indicating a “moderate” hunger level.
iii.Europe and Central Asia region have the lowest 2023 GHI score of 6.0 with an indication that the hunger level is ‘low’.
iv.East and Southeast Asia, dominated by populous China, has the second-lowest 2023 GHI score of 8.3.
v.The Latin America and the Caribbean is the only region whose GHI scores have increased from 8.0 in 2015 to 8.6 in 2023.
Recent related News:
i.The world hunger day is annually observed across the globe on 28th May to create awareness about the significance of ending hunger. The theme of the World Hunger Day 2023 observed on 28th May 2023 is ‘Celebrating sustainable solutions to hunger and poverty”.
