GS paper 2
Syllabus: Issues related to poverty and hunger, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection of vulnerable sections of society etc
Directions: The report is important and often Indian government has disputed its findings.
Context: India ranks 107 out of 121 countries (under the “serious category”) on the Global Hunger Index released by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
- Earlier India’s rank was 101 (2021)
- Concern Worldwide is an international humanitarian organisation dedicated to tackling poverty and suffering in the world’s poorest countries.
- Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest private aid organisations in Germany, independent of politics and religion.
Globally:
- Stagnant: Progress against hunger has largely stagnated in recent years.
- Moderate: The 2022 GHI score for the world is considered “moderate”.
- Slight improvement: 2(eighteen point two)in 2022 from 19.1(nineteen point one)in 2014
India on the index:
- Serious category: India’s score of 29.1(twenty nine point one places) is in the ‘serious’ category.
- Neighbouring countries: India also ranks below Sri Lanka (64), Nepal (81), Bangladesh (84), and Pakistan (99).
- Afghanistan (109): It is the only country in South Asia that performs worse than India on the index.
- India’s child wasting rate (low weight for height): It is 19.3(nineteen point three)%, worse than the levels recorded in 2014 (15.1(fifteen point one)%).
- Undernourishment: It has risen in the country from 14.6(fourteen point six)% in 2018-2020 to 16.3(sixteen point three)% in 2019-2021.
- Improvement in child stunting and child mortality between 2014 and 2022:
- Child stunting has declined from 38.7(thirty eight point seven)% to 35.5(thirty five point five)%.
- Child mortality has also dropped from 4.6(four point six)% to 3.3(three point three)%.
Reasons for the fallout globally:
- Conflict
- Climate change
- Economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Ukraine war
Some Related Initiatives by India for reducing hunger:
- Eat Right India Movement
- POSHAN Abhiyan
- Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana
- Food Fortification
- National Food Security Act, 2013
- Mission Indradhanush
- Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme
Basics of GHI:
The GHI score is calculated on a 100-point scale reflecting the severity of hunger. Zero is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. Each set of GHI scores uses data from a 5-year period. The 2022 GHI scores are calculated using data from 2017 through 2021.
Indicators:
- Inadequate Food Supply (1/3 weightage): Undernourishment
- Child undernutrition (1/3):
- Child stunting (1/6)
- Child wasting (1/6)
- Under 5 Child mortality (1/3)
Important definitions:
- Child mortality rate(under-five mortality rate): It refers to the probability of dying between birth and exactly five years of age expressed per 1,000 live births.
- Stunting: It is defined as low height-for-age. It is the result of chronic or recurrent undernutrition.
- Undernourishment: It is a measure of the proportion of the population facing chronic deficiency of dietary energy intake.
- Child Wasting: Wasting refers to children whose weight is low-for-their height.
Insta Links:
Mains Links:
- Despite the Consistent experience of High growth, India still goes with the lowest indicators of human development. Examine the issues that make balanced and inclusive development elusive. (UPSC 2019)
Prelims links:
- GHI
- Mortality
- Stunting
- Wasting
- Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe
Which of the following reports is/are published by the World Economic Forum(WEF)?
- Global Gender Gap report
- Global Risk report
- Energy transition Index
- Global Hunger Index
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a. 1, 2 and 3 only
b. 2 and 3 only
c. 1 and 4 only
d. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Ans: (a)
Justification;
- The global hunger index is published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe
- All other reports are released by WEF.
