The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2022 is out and a drop in India's hunger ranking has left the Centre miffed.
India ranked 107 out of 121 countries that could be ranked and a total 136 nations that were assessed. Last year, India ranked 101 out of 116 countries, while in 2020 the country was placed in the 94th position.
With a score of 29.1, the level of hunger in India has been labelled “serious”.
This year, India has been ranked even behind nations like Pakistan (99), Bangladesh (84), Nepal (81), and Sri Lanka (64).
In fact, in Asia, Afghanistan is the only nation behind India, with a rank of 109.
But how is the Global Hunger Index calculated? Who funds the Global Hunger Index? And why has the Centre dismissed the report as "erroneous"?
Explained | India's Rank on the Global Hunger Index And Why The Centre is Upset
1. What is the Global Hunger Index?
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is an annual publication that was started in 2006 by Welthungerhilfe and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest private aid agencies in Germany. Founded in 1962, it claims to be politically and religiously independent and works to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development goal of “zero hunger by 2030”.
According to Welthungerhilfe, it has provided funding of 4.46 billion euros for more than 10,895 overseas projects in 70 countries.
The report endeavours to “raise awareness and understanding of the struggle against hunger”. A country with a low score on the index gets a higher ranking. The higher the country's score, the lower its ranking.
Expand2. How is GHI Calculated?
The GHI score is based on four broad indicators —
Undernourishment (measure of the proportion of the population facing chronic deficiency of dietary energy intake)
Child stunting (low height for age)
Child wasting (low weight for height)
Child mortality (death of a child under the age of five)
The overall score is calculated using a three-step process where values are determined for the four component indicators for each country, drawing on the latest published data available from internationally recognised sources.
Each of the four component indicators is given a standardised score based on thresholds set slightly above the highest country-level values observed worldwide for that indicator since 1988.
For example, the highest value for undernourishment estimated in this period is 76.5 percent, so the threshold for standardisation is set a bit higher, at 80 percent.
In a given year, if a country has an undernourishment prevalence of 40 percent, its standardised undernourishment score for that year is 50.
The standardised scores are aggregated to calculate the GHI score for each country. The overall score is placed on a 100-point scale and the lower the score, the better the country's rank.
A score between 20 and 34.9 falls under the “serious” category. Therefore, a value of 0 is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. Countries with a score above 50 are put in the “extremely alarming” category.
Data used in the calculation of GHI scores comes from various UN and other multilateral agencies.
Expand3. What Are the Findings for India This Year?
According to GHI 2022, India has a score of 29.1 and hence falls under the “serious” category. Its child-wasting rate, which reflects acute malnutrition, is the highest in the world at 19.3 per cent.
India, however, noted improvement in two parameters of child stunting from 38.7 per cent in 2012-16 to 35.5 per cent in 2017-21 and child mortality from 4.6 per cent in 2014 to 3.3 per cent in 2020.
The country has the second lowest ranking among SAARC nations. Other SAARC countries have fared better. While Pakistan ranks at (99), Bangladesh is at 84, Nepal is at 81, and Sri Lanka is at 64. Only war-torn Afghansitan is far behind India in the index.
Expand4. Why Has the Centre Criticised the Report?
This is the second year running that the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre has criticised and refuted the GHI report.
The Centre has primarily maintained two major objections over the past two instalments of the GHI.
In a press release, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) said, "Three out of the four indicators used for calculation of the index are related to the health of children and cannot be representative of the entire population."
Moreover, the ministry claims that the estimate of the undernourished population accounts for a very small sample size of 3,000 based on the FAO's Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) survey model.
However, the GHI's official website states that they don't use the FIES survey model and instead rely on the prevalence of undernourishment indicators assessed by the FAO using the food balance sheet, which is based primarily on data officially reported by member countries, including India.
The ministry also said, "the report is not only disconnected from ground reality but also chooses to deliberately ignore the food security efforts of the Central government especially during the pandemic."
Expand5. What Have Opposition Parties Said?
The Congress slammed the BJP over the Global Hunger Index Report, saying it is “living in denial” and is suppressing facts.
Senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who is likely to become party president, said that the country has slipped in the hunger index yet again, now ranking 107, and is lagging behind every South Asian country except Afghanistan.
Veteran Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram said that the Narendra Modi-led Central Government is in "denial mode" vis-a-vis the challenges of poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
Chidambaram added, "UNDP and Oxford HDI have confirmed what we have said several times: that the UPA government had the best record in lifting people out of poverty."
To this effect, he cited data from the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2022 prepared by the UNDP and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Institute, which states that the number of poor people dropped by about 415 million in India over the past 15 years and that the Multidimensional Poverty Index value and incidence of poverty has more than halved.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Expand
What is the Global Hunger Index?
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is an annual publication that was started in 2006 by Welthungerhilfe and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest private aid agencies in Germany. Founded in 1962, it claims to be politically and religiously independent and works to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development goal of “zero hunger by 2030”.
According to Welthungerhilfe, it has provided funding of 4.46 billion euros for more than 10,895 overseas projects in 70 countries.
The report endeavours to “raise awareness and understanding of the struggle against hunger”. A country with a low score on the index gets a higher ranking. The higher the country's score, the lower its ranking.
How is GHI Calculated?
The GHI score is based on four broad indicators —
Undernourishment (measure of the proportion of the population facing chronic deficiency of dietary energy intake)
Child stunting (low height for age)
Child wasting (low weight for height)
Child mortality (death of a child under the age of five)
The overall score is calculated using a three-step process where values are determined for the four component indicators for each country, drawing on the latest published data available from internationally recognised sources.
Each of the four component indicators is given a standardised score based on thresholds set slightly above the highest country-level values observed worldwide for that indicator since 1988.
For example, the highest value for undernourishment estimated in this period is 76.5 percent, so the threshold for standardisation is set a bit higher, at 80 percent.
In a given year, if a country has an undernourishment prevalence of 40 percent, its standardised undernourishment score for that year is 50.
The standardised scores are aggregated to calculate the GHI score for each country. The overall score is placed on a 100-point scale and the lower the score, the better the country's rank.
A score between 20 and 34.9 falls under the “serious” category. Therefore, a value of 0 is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. Countries with a score above 50 are put in the “extremely alarming” category.
Data used in the calculation of GHI scores comes from various UN and other multilateral agencies.
What Are the Findings for India This Year?
According to GHI 2022, India has a score of 29.1 and hence falls under the “serious” category. Its child-wasting rate, which reflects acute malnutrition, is the highest in the world at 19.3 per cent.
India, however, noted improvement in two parameters of child stunting from 38.7 per cent in 2012-16 to 35.5 per cent in 2017-21 and child mortality from 4.6 per cent in 2014 to 3.3 per cent in 2020.
The country has the second lowest ranking among SAARC nations. Other SAARC countries have fared better. While Pakistan ranks at (99), Bangladesh is at 84, Nepal is at 81, and Sri Lanka is at 64. Only war-torn Afghansitan is far behind India in the index.
Why Has the Centre Criticised the Report?
This is the second year running that the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre has criticised and refuted the GHI report.
The Centre has primarily maintained two major objections over the past two instalments of the GHI.
In a press release, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) said, "Three out of the four indicators used for calculation of the index are related to the health of children and cannot be representative of the entire population."
Moreover, the ministry claims that the estimate of the undernourished population accounts for a very small sample size of 3,000 based on the FAO's Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) survey model.
However, the GHI's official website states that they don't use the FIES survey model and instead rely on the prevalence of undernourishment indicators assessed by the FAO using the food balance sheet, which is based primarily on data officially reported by member countries, including India.
The ministry also said, "the report is not only disconnected from ground reality but also chooses to deliberately ignore the food security efforts of the Central government especially during the pandemic."
What Have Opposition Parties Said?
The Congress slammed the BJP over the Global Hunger Index Report, saying it is “living in denial” and is suppressing facts.
Senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who is likely to become party president, said that the country has slipped in the hunger index yet again, now ranking 107, and is lagging behind every South Asian country except Afghanistan.
Veteran Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram said that the Narendra Modi-led Central Government is in "denial mode" vis-a-vis the challenges of poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
Chidambaram added, "UNDP and Oxford HDI have confirmed what we have said several times: that the UPA government had the best record in lifting people out of poverty."
To this effect, he cited data from the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2022 prepared by the UNDP and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Institute, which states that the number of poor people dropped by about 415 million in India over the past 15 years and that the Multidimensional Poverty Index value and incidence of poverty has more than halved.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)