ExplainSpeaking: Reading Global Hunger Index and Indian govt’s response

Source: The post is based on the article “ExplainSpeaking: Reading Global Hunger Index and Indian govt’s response” published in Indian Express on 18th October 2022.

What is the News?

Recently, Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe has released the latest edition of the Global Hunger Index report. It ranked India 107th out of 121 countries.

The Indian government responded by summarily dismissing the report going so far as to claim that it was done to “taint India’s image”.

What is the Global Hunger Index?

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Why has the Indian government criticized GHI 2022?

The Government of India has rejected the report based on the following reasons:

First, it claims that a “consistent effort” is yet again visible “to taint India’s image as a Nation that does not fulfil the food security and nutritional requirements of its population”

Secondly, it has questioned the methodology of GHI, claiming that “misinformation seems to be the hallmark” of the annually released report. There are three sub-parts to the government’s contention. Such as,

– GHI uses “an erroneous measure of hunger”. In other words, it defines hunger in terms of other variables beyond the lack of food.

– 3 out of the 4 variables used are related to children and as such cannot be representative of the entire population.

– The government claims that the fourth indicator, the proportion of undernourished population is “based on an opinion poll conducted on a very small sample size of 3000”.

Thirdly, the government details how it has been providing additional free-of-cost foodgrains to 80 crore Indians since March 2020, over and above the entitlements under the National Food Security Act. 

Malnourishment Problem in India

India has a severe malnourishment problem that needs to be tackled head-on. India can do better if its government rids itself of what increasingly resembles a persecution complex.

For instance, recently Unicef also brought out a report titled “Child Food Poverty: A Nutrition Crisis in Early Childhood”. The report provides a quick understanding of what child food poverty is and how it is being measured.

The report found that in 13 countries across the world, more than 2 in 5 children live in “severe food poverty”. India is one among those 13 giving company to countries such as Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Myanmar and Afghanistan.