GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX 2018

About:

• The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and national levels.
  
  
• The Index was first published in 2006.
  
  
• It is released annually by Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) was also involved with the publication until this year.
  
  
• Indicators used to calculate hunger levels: (1) undernourishment, which is the share of the population which is undernourished and reflects insufficient caloric intake; (2) child mortality; (3) child wasting (low weight for height); and (4) child stunting (low height for age).
  
  
• This calculation results in GHI scores on a 100-point scale, where 0 is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst.
  
  
• The 2018 scores reflect data from 2013-2017.
  
  

Findings:

• The level of hunger and undernutrition worldwide falls into the serious category, at a value of 20.9, down from 29.2 in 2000
  
  
• GHI projections show that at the pace of hunger reduction observed since 2000, approximately 50 countries will fail to reach low hunger levels as defined by the GHI Severity Scale by 2030; at present, 79 countries have failed to reach that designation according to the 2018 GHI.
  
  

Indian Scenario:

• India has been ranked at 103 out of 119 countries in the Index, with hunger levels in the country categorised as “serious”.
  
  
• India’s ranking has dropped three places from last year, although the results are not accurately comparable from year to year.
  
  
• India’s score is 31.1, which was 7.7 points lesser than in 2000, but higher than the global average of 20.9 (higher the score, worse the situation).
  
  
• India has shown improvement in three of the indicators namely undernourishment, child mortality and child stunting.
  
  
• However, the prevalence of child wasting has worsened. It stood at 20% in 2005 and in 2018, it stands at 21%. i.e. At least one in five Indian children under the age of five are ‘wasted’. The only country with a higher prevalence of child wasting is South Sudan with a child wasting prevalence is at 28%.