Topic– Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
4) There is a need for India to learn from other Asian countries and move from food security to nutrition security. Analyze.(250 words)
Why this question
Hunger affects the whole existence of a person and restricts his capacity for development. India has the world’s highest number of malnourished children and has fared poorly in tackling hunger among its citizens. In this context it is important to analyze the methods and strategies of similarly placed countries like India and learn from them.
Directive word
Analyze-here we have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts, and present them as a whole in a summary.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to dig deep into the problem of hunger and malnourishment among the Indians and bring out why there is a need to move from food security to nutritional security, as has been successfully followed by some of the neighbors.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines about India’s performance in world hunger report.e.g As the IFPRI report suggests, India contributed single-handedly to South Asia being one of the worst performers on malnutrition and child health. Though India’s immediate neighbours in South Asia do not fare all that well in the global ranking either, they are still comfortably ahead of India etc.
Body-
Discuss the need of pursuing nutrition security over food security and how India can learn from other Asian countries which have performed well. E.g Open defecation, which is exceptionally widespread in India, can account for much or all of the excess stunting in India.” The construction of toilets and improved sanitation undertaken by the NDA government as a priority, and its drive towards cleanliness through the ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign, ought to be welcomed and deserve full support; lessons from Bangladesh- a pluralistic health system that has main stakeholders pursuing women-centred, gender-equity-oriented, highly focussed health programmes in family planning, immunisation, oral rehydration and child health, tuberculosis, vitamin A supplementation; The Vietnamese, with their intervention programmes aimed at nutrient enhancement, have managed their growth process ensuring a positive association between reduction in expenditure-based poverty and calorie-based under-nutrition, in a manner that has lessons for other high growth achievers such as India; Whereas in Bangladesh NGOs played an interventionist role in promoting universal health coverage, in Vietnam there have been several private and public initiatives to enhance food security in the 1990s
Conclusion– based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
