Recently, India ranked 105th out of 127 countries with a score of 27.3 in the Global Hunger Index Report (GHI) for the year 2024, highlighting the “severe” hunger crisis driven by challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition.
The Global Hunger Index:
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a peer-reviewed index published annually by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
The GHI is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional and national levels, reflecting the multiple dimensions of hunger over time.
The GHI score is calculated on a 100-point scale, which reflects hunger – 0 is the best score (meaning there is no starvation) and 100 is the worst score.
The four component indicators:
Undernourishment:
The part of the population whose caloric intake is insufficient, this refers to insufficient caloric intake to maintain a healthy life as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Child Stunting:
A group of children under the age of five whose height is low depending on their age, shows chronic malnutrition.
Child Wasting:
The share of children under the age of five whose weight is low in proportion to their height shows severe malnutrition.
Child Mortality:
The group of children who die before their fifth birthday, which partly reflects the deadly mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environment.
Note:
Concern Worldwide is an international humanitarian organization focused on alleviating suffering and alleviating poverty in the world’s poorest countries.
Welthungerhilfe, founded in 1962 as the German branch of the “Free from Hunger Campaign,” is a private aid organization based in Germany.
The GHI score for the year 2024 for the world is 18.3, which is slightly better than the GHI score of 2016 of 18.8 and is considered “moderate.”
South Asian neighbours such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka perform better and fall in the “moderate” category.
Recognition of India’s efforts:
The report acknowledges India’s “significant political will” to improve the food and nutrition landscape through various initiatives: Poshan Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission) PM Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKAY) National Natural Farming Mission.
Inadequate GDP growth:
The report highlights that gross domestic product (GDP) growth does not guarantee a reduction in hunger or better nutrition, hence the need for policies focused on pro-poor development and addressing social and economic inequalities.
India’s response to GHI 2024:
Faulty methodology:
The Ministry of Women and Child Development has criticised the absence of data from the nutrition tracker, which reportedly indicates a 7.2 per cent child malnutrition rate.
Focus on child health:
The government said that three out of the four GHI indicators are related to the health of children and are probably not fully representative of the entire population.
A small sample size:
The government expressed doubts about the accuracy of the “proportion of undernourished population” indicator, as it is based on an opinion poll of a small sample size.
Challenges related to hunger in India:
Inefficient Public Distribution System (PDS) Despite reforms, India’s PDS still faces challenges in reaching all intended beneficiaries.
Under the National Food Security Act, 67% of the population gets benefits, but under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TDPS), more than 90 million eligible people have been deprived of legal rights.
Income inequality and poverty:
Although India has made progress in reducing poverty (24.82 crore Indians have moved out of multidimensional poverty in the last 9 years), there remain huge inequalities in income, affecting food availability.
Nutritional challenges and dietary diversity:
Food security in India is often focused on calorie adequacy rather than nutritional adequacy.
Urbanization and Changing Food Systems:
Rapid urbanization in India is changing food systems and consumption patterns.
A 2022 study by the Tata-Cornell Institute found that 51% of households living in urban slums in Delhi faced food insecurity.
Gender-based Nutritional Differences:
Gender-based inequalities exacerbate hunger and malnutrition in India. Women and girls often face unequal access to food in households, receiving small amounts or low-quality food.
This inequality, combined with the demand for maternal and childcare, increases their vulnerability to chronic malnutrition.
Solution:
To reform the Public Distribution System (PDS) to enhance transparency, reliability and affordability of nutritious food and benefit the economically disadvantaged.
Social Audit and Awareness:
Implementing social audit of mid-day meal scheme in all districts with participation of local authorities, enhance monitoring of the programme through IT, and establish community-driven nutrition education programmes in local languages with focus on balanced diet for women and children.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SGD) focus specifically on SGD 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SGD 2 (Zero Hunger) sustainable consumption patterns.
Investments in Agriculture:
A holistic food system approach that promotes diverse and nutritious food production, including nutritious cereals such as millets.
It is very important to prevent food waste. One of the main measures is to improve warehousing and cold storage infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses.
Health Investments:
Focus on maternal and child health through improved water, sanitation and hygiene practices.
Interrelated factors:
It is important to recognize the interrelationship between gender, climate change and nutrition in policymaking, as these factors significantly impact public health, social equity and sustainable development.
Government of India’s initiatives to combat hunger:
Eat Right India Movement
POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission)
Mission Indradhanush
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme