Global Hunger Index 2019: India ranked 102 out of 117 countries
India ranked 102nd in the 2019 Global Hunger Index (GHI), well below its neighbors Pakistan (94), Bangladesh (88), Sri Lanka (66), Nepal (73) and China (25).
According Global Hunger Index 2018 ,which was released on Tuesday, noted that “India is suffering from hunger on a serious scale”.
This study is based on four key indicators -undernourishment, child mortality, child wasting, and child stunting. Child wasting refers to the sharing of children under the age of five who have a low weight for their height, indicating acute malnutrition. According to the GHI, Yemen, Djibouti and India are among the most devastated.
India, which is very largely populated has the child wasting rate is very high at 20.8 percent – the highest wastage rate of any country in this report for which data or estimates were available.
The country has gained one place as compared to the previous year (103). But this is hardly a reason for consolation, as India was ranked 100 in 2017.
GHI reports says ,India’s child stunting rate, 37.9 percent, is also ranked high in terms of its public health importance. “In India, only 9.6 percent of all children between 6 and 23 months are given a minimum acceptable diet.
It further staes that as of 2015-2014, 90 percent of Indian households used an improved drinking water source, while 39 percent of households did not have sanitation facilities (IIPS and ICF 2017).
Though Prime Minister Modi’s Swachh Bharat’ campaign and his efforts to end open defecation which is still practiced was appreatiated but the condition endangers people’s health, particularly that children are compromised by their ability to absorb nutrients.
India’s 102 rank means that there are only fifteen other countries in this index that are worse than India. Almost all of these African countries are: Sierra Leone, Uganda, Djibouti, Congo, Sudan, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Timor-Leste, Haiti, Liberia, Zambia, Madagascar, Chad, Yemen and Central African Republic.
India has slipped from 95th rank in 2010 to 102nd in 2019 on the Global Hunger Index.The report releaed by GHI is showed how India is becoming most devastated compare to our neighbouring countries.Pakistan, bangladesh and Nepal is better when its comes hunger management.
