India ranks 111 out of 125 countries in Global Hunger Index

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• Oct 12, 2023 | Dhupali Das

India finds itself in the 111th position out of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2023, marking a concerning stall in the...

Digital Desk: India finds itself in the 111th position out of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2023, marking a concerning stall in the country's fight against hunger since 2015. This stagnation is not unique to India, as the global trend reflects a slowdown in progress. Despite this unsettling reality, the Union government continues to challenge India's GHI performance for the third consecutive year, asserting a flawed methodology.

The GHI ranks countries based on their GHI score, which measures the severity of hunger on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 represents no hunger and 100 reflects the worst condition. India's GHI score of 28.7 categorizes its hunger situation as "serious." The GHI score combines four key indicators: undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting, and child mortality, offering a comprehensive view of the multi-dimensional nature of hunger.

While India made substantial strides between 2000 and 2015, with its score improving from 38.4 in 2000 to 29.2 in 2015, the last eight years have witnessed a mere 0.5-point reduction in its GHI score. Consequently, only the 2000, 2008, and 2015 GHI scores can be validly compared over time.

India's stagnation mirrors a global trend. The GHI for the world in 2023 stands at 18.3, considered a "moderate" level of hunger, just one point below the 2015 GHI score of 19.1. Globally, the percentage of undernourished people has risen from 7.5% in 2017 to 9.2% in 2022, affecting approximately 735 million individuals.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) has once again contested the GHI results, arguing that it's a "flawed measure of hunger" that does not accurately reflect India's true position. One key point of contention is the prevalence of child wasting. According to the MoWCD's Poshan Tracker portal, child wasting stands at 7.2% among the data of 7.24 crore under-five-year-olds. In contrast, the GHI employs a value of 18.7% for child wasting, relying on the National Family Health Survey 5 (NFHS) 2019-2021, a global repository designed to harmonize child nutrition estimates.

Miriam Wiemers, a senior policy advisor at the GHI, emphasized the importance of using the same data sources for all countries to ensure comparable results and rankings. Introducing exceptions for any country could undermine the comparability of the findings.

The second objection raised by MoWCD relates to the alleged use of a telephone-based opinion poll to calculate undernourishment, one of the GHI indicators. The GHI maintains that it relies on India's Food Balance Sheet, not opinion polls, to determine undernourishment levels.

Globally, South Asia and Africa South of the Sahara have the highest levels of hunger, each with GHI scores of 27.0, indicating "serious" hunger. West Asia and North Africa rank third with a score of 11.9, indicating "moderate" hunger.

In contrast, Latin America and the Caribbean are the only regions that have experienced a worsening GHI score between 2015 and 2023.

East and Southeast Asia, predominantly led by China, boast the second-lowest GHI score, with China being among the top 20 countries with GHI scores less than 5.

Europe and Central Asia have the lowest GHI score of 6.0, considered "low" and indicating a relatively healthier hunger situation.

The GHI 2023 report suggests that the stagnation in global hunger eradication results from a combination of overlapping crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, economic stagnation, climate change impacts, and intractable conflicts worldwide. These crises have created a cost of living crisis, straining the capacity of many countries to cope effectively.

In the face of these challenges, the GHI continues to serve as a critical tool for assessing and addressing hunger worldwide, despite ongoing debates surrounding its methodology. As nations grapple with the multifaceted nature of hunger and the external pressures exerted by global crises, the need for collective action to alleviate suffering and promote food security remains paramount.