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Data accuracy of the Global Hunger Index

Posted on March 23, 2021 by admin1  426

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The Union Minister of State for Agriculture questioned the methodology and data accuracy of the Global Hunger Index (GHI) report.

About

  • Though India’s ranking in CHI improved from 102 in 2019 to 94 (out of 107 countries). In 2020 yet India was placed behind countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
  • Presently, with a score of 27.2, India comes in the ‘serious’ category.
  • The government has flagged its concerns with German organisation Welthungerhilfe on “appropriateness, accuracy and representativeness of data” used to calculate the level of hunger in India.
    • It was alleged that children considered healthy were also counted to determine the ranking.
    • Also, national surveys reflect India’s improving position as according to the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) 2017-18.

Claims India made

  • According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4, the percentage of wasted, stunted and malnourished children in 2015-16 stood at 21, 38.4 and 35.7, respectively.
  • As compared to NFHS-4 data, the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) compiled in 2017-18 showed an improvement of 4%, 3.7% and 2.3% in wasted, stunted and malnourished children respectively.

 

About Global Hunger Index

  • GHI is a peer-reviewed annual report, jointly published by Concern Worldwide, an Ireland-based humanitarian group, and Welthungerhilfe, a Germany-based NGO.
  • It is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels.
  • GHI scores are calculated each year to assess progress and setbacks in combating hunger.
  • Methodology: Scores are based on the values of four component indicators:
    • Undernourishment (share of the population with insufficient caloric intake)
    • Child wasting (share of children under age 5 who have low weight for their height)
    • Child stunting (share of children under age 5 who have low height for their age)
    • Child mortality (mortality rate of children under age 5)
  • GHI is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the struggle against hunger, provide a way to compare levels of hunger between countries and regions

 

                                           Image Source :Globalhungerindex.org

 

What is malnutrition?

  • Malnutrition indicates that children are either too short for their age or too thin.
  •  Children whose height is below the average for their age are considered to be stunted.
  • Similarly, children whose weight is below the average for their age are considered thin for their height or wasted. 
    • Together, the stunted and wasted children are considered to be underweight – indicating a lack of proper nutritional intake and inadequate care post-childbirth.

Causes of malnutrition

  • Agriculture output: The agriculture output from small and marginal holdings are either stagnant or declining due to reasons such as reduced soil fertility, fragmented lands or fluctuating market price of farm produce.
  • Low Income: Relative income of one section of people has been on the decline.
    • This has adverse effects on their capacity to buy adequate food, especially when food prices have been on the rise.
    • The kind of work a section of people have been doing are less remunerative or there is less opportunity to get remunerative work.
  • Public Distribution System (PDS): The public distribution system (PDS) of the state is not functioning well or is not accessible to everyone.
  • Rural Unemployment: The emaciated rural livelihoods sector and lack of income opportunities other than the farm sector have contributed heavily to the growing joblessness in rural areas.
    • The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2017-18 revealed that rural unemployment stood at a concerning 6.1 per cent, which was the highest since 1972-73.

Measures Taken to tackle Malnutrition

  • Various government initiatives have been launched over the years which seek to improve the nutrition status in the country.

Poshan Abhiyan

  • It was approved in 2017.
  • It is a multi-ministerial convergence mission with the vision to ensure the attainment of malnutrition free India by 2022.
  • The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) is implementing POSHAN Abhiyaan.

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

  • It was launched on 2nd October 1975 and it represents one of the world’s largest and unique programmes for early childhood care and development.
  • The beneficiaries under the Scheme are children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers
  • Ministry of Women and Child Development is the implementing agency

Matritva Sahyog Yojana

  • Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) is a Conditional Maternity Benefit (CMB) Scheme launched in 2010.
  • The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) as the centrally sponsored scheme.
  • It was launched for pregnant and lactating women to improve their health and nutrition status to better-enable the environment by providing cash incentives to pregnant and nursing mothers.

Mid-Day Meal Scheme

  • The Mid-day Meal Scheme is a school meal programme in India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children
  • It covers all school students studying in classes 1 to 8 of government schools, government-aided schools, special training centres, including madrasas supported under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.

National Food Security Mission

  • It was launched in 2007-08  by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
  • It was based on the recommendations of the agriculture sub-committee of the National Development Council (NDC).
  • It focuses on the sustainable increase in the production of targeted crops through area expansion and productivity enhancement.

National Nutrition Mission

  • It is the government’s flagship programme to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
  • Aim: To reduce stunting and wasting by 2% per year (total 6% until 2022) among children and anaemia by 3% per year (total 9% until 2022) among children, adolescent girls and pregnant women and lactating mothers.
  • The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) is the nodal ministry for implementation.

National Nutrition Strategy

  • The Strategy aims to reduce all forms of malnutrition by 2030, with a focus on the most vulnerable and critical age groups.
  •  The Strategy also aims to assist in achieving the targets identified as part of the Sustainable Development Goals related to nutrition and health.

Source :TH

 
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