Syllabus: GS2/Health, GS3/ Economy, Inclusive Growth
Context
- India has been ranked 105th out of 127 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2024, placing it in the “serious” category for hunger levels.
What is the Global Hunger Index (GHI)?
- GHI is a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels.
- The index is published by Concern Worldwide, an Irish humanitarian organisation, and Welthungerhilfe, a German aid agency.
Findings of the GHI 2024
- The 2024 Global Hunger Index score for the world is 18.3, considered moderate, down only slightly from the 2016 score of 18.8.
- Little progress has been made on reducing hunger since 2016, and the prospects for achieving Zero Hunger by the target date of 2030 are grim, with 42 countries still experiencing alarming or serious hunger.
- The wars in Gaza and Sudan have led to exceptional food crises.
- Somalia, Yemen, Chad, and Madagascar are the countries with the highest 2024 GHI scores; Burundi and South Sudan are also provisionally designated as alarming.
- Progress has been notable for example in Bangladesh, Mozambique, Nepal, Somalia, and Togo, although challenges remain.
- India’s performance remains concerning, in comparison to the South Asian neighbours such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, which fall into the “moderate” category.
- India is listed alongside countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan, which also face severe hunger challenges.
- The report reveals alarming statistics: 13.7 percent of India’s population is undernourished, 35.5 percent of children under five are stunted, 18.7 percent suffer from wasting, and 2.9 percent of children die before their fifth birthday.
Policy Recommendations
- Strengthen accountability to international law and enforce the right to food.
- Promote gender-transformative approaches in food and climate policies.
- Invest in gender, climate, and food justice, ensuring public resources address inequalities.
| Initiatives by Government of India to address Hunger – Mid Day Meal Programme: It is a flagship programme of the Government of India aiming at enhancing enrolment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children studying in Government, Local Body and Government-aided primary and upper primary school areas across the country. – The National Food Security Act, 2013: The Act provides for coverage of upto 75% of the rural population and upto 50% of the urban population for receiving subsidized foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), thus covering about two-thirds of the population. 1. The Act also has a special focus on the nutritional support to women and children. – Poshan Tracker: The Ministry of Women and Child Development developed and deployed the ‘Poshan Tracker’ ICT Application as an important governance tool. 1. The Poshan Tracker has incorporated WHO’s expanded tables, which provide day-based z-scores, to dynamically determine stunting, wasting, underweight, and obesity status based on a child’s height, weight, gender, and age. – The Central Government launched Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) with the specific purpose of ameliorating the hardships faced by the poor and needy due to economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. 1. The allocation of free food grains under PMGKAY was in addition to normal allocation done under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. – SakshamAnganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) includes key schemes such as the POSHAN Abhiyaan, Anganwadi Services and Scheme for Adolescent Girls as direct targeted interventions to address the problem of malnutrition in the country. 1. The beneficiaries under the Anganwadi Services scheme are children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers. 2. Supplementary nutrition is provided to beneficiaries in the form of Hot Cooked Meals at Anganwadi Centres and Take Home Ration (not raw ration). |
Source: TOI
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