- India ranked 100/119
- India slipped by 3 ranks i.e. from rank 97 in 2016
- Index is released by Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
- In 2017 GHI, India scored 31.4 and was placed in high end of “serious” category.
- India low ranking also influences South Asia’s regional score as three quarters of South Asia’s population reside in India.
- India’s neighbours ranking are Nepal (72), Myanmar (77), Bangladesh (88), Sri Lanka (84) and China (29)—except Pakistan (106) and Afghanistan (107).
- Even North Korea (93) and Iraq (78) fared better in hunger parameters and GHI rankings.
- More than 20% of Indian children under the age of five have lower weight in relation to their height and about 33% are too short in relation to their age.
- Despite India being world’s second largest food producer it has second highest under-nourished population in the world.
What is Global Hunger Index (GHI)?
- The GHI is a multidimensional statistical tool used to describe the state of countries’ hunger situation.
- It is released annually by IFPRI since 2006.
- It ranks countries on a 100-point scale. Zero on the scale is the best score (no hunger), and 100 is the worst.
- It highlights successes and failures in hunger reduction and provides insights into the drivers of hunger. Thus, GHI aims to trigger actions to reduce hunger.
- The GHI is calculated by taking into account four indicator parameters. They are :
- Undernourished population (1/3rd weight),
- Child wasting (1/6th weight),
- Child stunting (1/6th weight) and
- Infant mortality rate (1/3rd weight).
- Stunting: Deficiency in height in relation to age, reflects chronic undernutrition.
- Wasting: Low weight in relation to a child’s height, reflects acute undernutrition.