Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2023

Source for Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2023: Globalhungerindex
GS I : Issues related to poverty and hunger, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection of vulnerable sections of society etc; GS II: Health

Overview

1. News in Brief
2. About GHI 2023
3. India in the report
4. Global Hunger Scenario?
5. India’s Effort Against Hunger

Why in the News?

Global Hunger Index is a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels released its latest report Global Hunger Index 2023.

About GHI 2023

• The global hunger index is a means of monitoring whether countries are achieving hunger-related Sustainable Development Goals.
• It can be used for international ranking.
• The global hunger index captures three dimensions of hunger
  • Insufficient availability of food
  • Shortfalls in the nutritional status of children
  • Child mortality
• Accordingly, the index includes three equally weighted indicators
  • The proportion of people who are food energy-deficient, as estimated by FAO.
  • Prevalence of underweight in children aged under 5 years, as compiled by WHO
  • The mortality rate of children aged under 5 years, as reported by UNICEF.
• GHI score is based on a formula which combines four indicators that together capture the multidimensional nature of hunger, including
  • Undernourishment
  • Child stunting
  • Child wasting
  • Child mortality
• Countries are ranked on a 100-point scale, with 0 and 100 being the best and worst possible scores, respectively.
• The 2023 Global Hunger Index report has revealed that global efforts to combat hunger have not produced significant results.
• Despite extensive efforts, progress remains largely stagnant.
• This year, more than 345 million people are facing high levels of food insecurity, which is an increase of almost 200 million from early 2021, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Details in the Report

India in the report

• India with a score of 28.7 categorises India’s severity of hunger as serious.
• India ranks 111 out of a total of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2023
• The report shows progress against hunger nearly halted since 2015, reflecting a global trend.
• In 2022, India ranked 107th out of 121.

How did India respond to the Report?

• The Union government, though, contested India’s performance for the third year in a row, citing flawed methodology.
• The Ministry of Women and Child Development yet again questioned the GHI and called it a flawed measure of hunger that doesn’t reflect India’s true position.
• Why is India opposing the report?
  • Three out of the four indicators used for the calculation of the index are related to the health of children and cannot be representative of the entire population.
  • The fourth and most important indicator Proportion of the Undernourished population (PoU) is based on an opinion poll conducted on a very small sample size of 3,000.

How do India’s neighbouring countries perform?

• The GHI ranked Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka at 102nd, 81st, 69th, and 60th, respectively.
• China improved and found in the top 5 ranked at 5

Global Hunger Scenario?

• GHI 2023 score for the world is 18.3.
  • It is considered moderate.
  • Shows minimal improvement since 2015.
• GHI 2023 report, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Chile and China are among the top-ranked countries
• Yemen, Madagascar, Central African Republic are the bottom.
• Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have the highest hunger levels with scores indicating serious hunger.
• South Asia and Africa south of the Sahara hunger levels, both with a GHI score of 27.

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