We must rise above misleading ‘global hunger’ rankings based on odd methodology
ICDS programme to improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age group 0-6 years, laying the foundation for proper psychological, physical and social development of the child. India is also leveraging technology under an ambitious Poshan Tracker for dynamic identification of underweight children, as also of stunting and wasting among them, and for last-mile tracking of nutrition service delivery. Even as India is making rapid progress on health, paradoxically the Global Hunger Index (GHI) has placed India among the bottom 15 ranks, at No.
111 out of 125 countries. Also, the World Happiness Index ranked India No. 126 out of 136 countries, again in the bottom 15.
Intriguingly, Palestine is at No. 99. For a moment, let’s forget such rankings and instead look at India’s progress on hunger parameters.
Hunger is being reduced in India at the same pace as the world. The World GHI score has reduced from 28 in 2000 to 18.3 in 2023. In comparison, India has reduced hunger from 38.4 in 2000 to 28.7 in 2023.
So, both India and the world have reduced hunger by 9.7 points. Interestingly, after 2010, India has reduced hunger at a faster pace than the world. Further, if the GHI score is measured by using data from the Poshan Tracker for under-five stunting and under-five wasting, India’s rank rises by at least 20 places, leaving behind Mali, Djibouti, Guinea, Haiti, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Zambia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Angola and Congo (Democratic Republic).
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