Global Hunger Index 2020: India ranks 94 out of 107 countries, under ‘serious’ category

Out of the total 107 countries, only 13 countries fare worse than India including countries like Rwanda (97), Nigeria (98), Afghanistan (99), Liberia (102), Mozambique (103), Chad (107) among others.

India ranks 94 among 107 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2020, the report released on Friday said. According to the report, with a score of 27.2, India has a level of hunger that is “serious”. India’s rank was 102 out of 117 countries last year.

In the index, India features behind Nepal (73), Pakistan (88), Bangladesh (75), Indonesia (70) among others. Out of the total 107 countries, only 13 countries fare worse than India including countries like Rwanda (97), Nigeria (98), Afghanistan (99), Liberia (102), Mozambique (103), Chad (107) among others.

According to the report, 14 per cent of India’s population is undernourished. It also says that the country recorded a child stunting rate of 37.4 per cent. Stunted children are those who have a “low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition”.

The Global Hunger Index is a peer-reviewed annual report, jointly published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels.

“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,” the GHI report stated.

“In many countries the situation is improving too slowly, while in others it is worsening. For 46 countries in the moderate, serious, or alarming categories, GHI scores have improved since 2012, but for 14 countries in those categories, GHI scores show that hunger and undernutrition have worsened. The latest GHI projections show that 37 countries will fail to achieve even low hunger by 2030,” the report said.

According to its website, the GHI scores are calculated each year to assess progress and setbacks in combating hunger. It is calculated on the basis of four indicators — undernourishment, child wasting, the share of children under the age of five who are wasted (that is, 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.

In 2018, India ranked 103 among 119 countries on the global hunger index.

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