India Ranks 94 In Global Hunger Index – Burning Issues – Free PDF Download

About global hunger index

• It is an annual report, jointly published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
• It was first produced in 2006, hence 2020 edition marks the 15^thedition of the GHI.
• Concern Worldwide is Ireland’s largest aid and humanitarian agency.
• Its core work focuses on health, hunger and humanitarian response in emergencies.
• Deutsche Welthungerhilfe V. – or Welthungerhilfe for short – is a German non-denominational and politically independent non-profit and non-governmental aid agency working in the fields of development cooperation and emergency aid.

Aim of the index

• The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels.

Component of the Index

• GHI scores are based on the values of 4 component indicators:-
• Undernourishment (share of the population with insufficient caloric intake),
• Child wasting (share of children under age five who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition),
• Child stunting (share of children under age five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition),
• Child mortality (mortality rate of children under age five, partly reflecting the fatal mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments).
• Based on the values of the four indicators, the GHI determines hunger on a 100-point scale.
• Where 0 is the best possible score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst.
• Each country’s GHI score is classified by severity, from lowto extremely alarming.

India’s ranking

• India now ranks 94th among 107 countries in terms of hunger, and continues to be in the ‘serious’ hunger category.
• Last year, India’s GHI rank was 102 out of 117 countries.
• According to the study, 14% of India’s population is undernourished.
• India ranks lower than most of its South Asian neighbours – Pakistan (88), Nepal (73), Bangladesh (75), Sri Lanka (64) and Myanmar (78).
• Only Afghanistan fares worse, at 99th place.

• GHI scores are comparable only within each year’s report, not between different years’ reports.
• To track a country or region’s GHI performance over time, its 2020 GHI score can be compared with its GHI scores for 2000, 2006, and 2012.

• One positive in the report on India is the reduction in under-five mortality.
• However, this doesn’t mean the problem is over:
• “India—the region’s most populous country—experienced a decline in under-five mortality in this period, driven largely by decreases in deaths from-
• Birth asphyxia or trauma, neonatal infections, pneumonia, and diarrhea.
• “However, child mortality caused by prematurity and low birthweight increased, particularly in poorer states and rural areas.
• Prevention of prematurity and low birthweight is identified as a key factor with the potential to reduce under-five mortality in India,
• Through actions such as better antenatal care, education, and nutrition as well as reductions in anemia and oral tobacco use,” the study recommends.

Conclusion

• Many parts of the world are suffering from unacceptable levels of hunger.
• At the regional, country, and subnational levels, the experience of living without adequate access to sufficient, nutritious food is all too common.
• Given the current trajectory, the goal of achieving Zero Hunger by 2030 will not be fully achieved.
• This likelihood is evident even before factoring in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is already reducing food and nutrition security around the world, with additional effects expected into the future.
• Yet progress has been made in the past in many parts of the world, providing hope for the future.
• Looking back at trends over the past 10 to 20 years, most countries have experienced improvements.
• Even in several countries where hunger and undernutrition were considered extremely alarming 20 years ago, the situation has improved dramatically.

Q) What is Rio+20 Conference?

1. It is the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.
2. It is a Ministerial Meeting of the WTO.
3. It is a Conference of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change.
4. It is a Conference of the Member Countries of the Convention on Biological Diversity

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