India ranks 94 in Global Hunger Index 2020, below Pakistan and Bangladesh


Team Udayavani, Oct 17, 2020, 2:59 PM IST

New Delhi: India ranked 94 among 107 nations in the Global Hunger Index 2020 and is in the ‘serious’ hunger category with experts blaming poor implementation processes, lack of effective monitoring, siloed approach in tackling malnutrition and poor performance by large states behind the low ranking.

Last year, India’s rank was 102 out of 117 countries.

The neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan too are in the ‘serious’ category but ranked higher than India in this year’s hunger index. While Bangladesh ranked 75, Myanmar and Pakistan are in the 78th and 88th position.

Nepal in 73rd and Sri Lanka in 64th position are in ”moderate” hunger category, the report showed.

Seventeen nations, including China, Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba and Kuwait, shared the top rank with GHI scores of less than five, the website of the Global Hunger Index, that tracks hunger and malnutrition, said on Friday.

According to the report, 14 per cent of India’s population is undernourished.

It also showed the country recorded a 37.4 per cent stunting rate among children under five and a wasting rate of 17.3 per cent. The under-five mortality rate stood at 3.7 per cent.

Wasting is children who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition. Stunting is children under the age of five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition.

Data from 1991 through 2014 for Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan showed that stunting is concentrated among children from households facing multiple forms of deprivation, including poor dietary diversity, low levels of maternal education, and household poverty.

During this period, India experienced a decline in under-five mortality, driven largely by a decrease in deaths from birth asphyxia or trauma, neonatal infections, pneumonia, and diarrhoea, the report stated.

“However, child mortality, caused by prematurity and low birth weight, 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 anaemia and oral tobacco use,” it said.

Experts think that poor implementation processes, lack of effective monitoring and siloed approaches to tackling malnutrition often result in poor nutrition indices.

Purnima Menon, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, New Delhi, said the performance of large states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh need to be improved to see an overall change of India’s ranking.

“Every fifth child born in India is in Uttar Pradesh. So if you have a high level of malnutrition in a state that has a high population, it contributes a lot to India’s average. Obviously, then, India’s average will be slow to move,” she told PTI.

Menon said big states with large population and a high burden of malnutrition are those which are actually affecting India’s average.

“So, if we want a change in India then we would also need a change in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar,” she said.

GHI score is calculated on four indicators — undernourishment; child wasting, the share of children under the age of five who are wasted- who have low weight for their height reflecting acute undernutrition); child stunting, children under the age of five who have low height for their age reflecting chronic undernutrition; and child mortality the mortality rate of children under the age of five.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Delhi HC denies anticipatory bail to Puja Khedkar in UPSC cheating case

Sindhu marries Venkat Datta at Udaipur in a private ceremony

Today’s Cong is ‘duplicate Congress’ led by ‘fake Gandhis’, claims Union Minister Pralhad Joshi

Ahead of Delhi polls, Kejriwal helps women, elderly register for welfare schemes

Cong presses for Shah resignation over Ambedkar remark, announces protests against ‘anti-Dalit’ BJP

Mumbra woman gets life in jail for killing son’s wife, his mother-in-law

Indian buyers still prefer physical dealerships over online mediums to purchase cars: Survey

Related Articles More

Delhi HC denies anticipatory bail to Puja Khedkar in UPSC cheating case

Newly recruited Meitei, Kuki personnel in Manipur police to be posted together: CM Biren Singh

Today’s Cong is ‘duplicate Congress’ led by ‘fake Gandhis’, claims Union Minister Pralhad Joshi

Ahead of Delhi polls, Kejriwal helps women, elderly register for welfare schemes

Union minister condemns disruption of Christmas celebration in Kerala school

MUST WATCH

Tulunadu Daivaradane

Feeding Birds with Creative Paddy Art!

Areca Nut

HOTEL SRI DURGA BHAVANA

Harish Poonja


Latest Additions

Delhi HC denies anticipatory bail to Puja Khedkar in UPSC cheating case

Sindhu marries Venkat Datta at Udaipur in a private ceremony

Tanush Kotian replaces recently retired Ashwin in India’s squad

Newly recruited Meitei, Kuki personnel in Manipur police to be posted together: CM Biren Singh

Today’s Cong is ‘duplicate Congress’ led by ‘fake Gandhis’, claims Union Minister Pralhad Joshi

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.