Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2022

Context

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2022 has ranked India at 107th out of 121 countries and a score of 29.1 puts India in the "serious" category.

Key-Findings

• India Specific Rank and score: India ranks 107 out of 121 countries on the GHI and a score of 29.1 places it in the ‘serious’ category. 
• India’s child wasting rate at 19.3%, is worse than earlier levels recorded in 2014 (15.1%) and 2000 (17.15) and is the highest for any country in the world. It drives up the South Asian region’s average due to India’s large population.
• Prevalence of undernourishment has also risen in India from 14.6% in 2018-2020 to 16.3% in 2019-2021. Thus, 224.3 million people in India are considered undernourished. 
• Improvement in: Child stunting has declined from 38.7% to 35.5% between 2014 and 2022.
• Child mortality has also dropped from 4.6% to 3.3% in the same comparative period.
• India and the neighborhood: India fares worse (rank lower) than all South Asian countries- Sri Lanka (64), Nepal (81), Bangladesh (84), and Pakistan (99); except war-torn Afghanistan (109).  
• Global Scenario: Top rankings in GHI are dominated by European nations including Croatia, Estonia, and Montenegro etc.
• Yemen lies at the lowest position (121).
• In Asia, only China and Kuwait are ranked at the top of the list. 

About the Global Hunger Index (GHI)

• In the GHI 2021, India had slipped to 101st position of 116 countries (from its 94th position in 2020).
• The GHI is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels, reflecting multiple dimensions of hunger over time. 

• The GHI is published annually as part of a partnership between Concern Worldwide, Ireland’s largest aid and humanitarian agency and Welthungerhilfe.
• The first GHI report was published in 2006.

• The GHI score of each country is calculated based on a formula combining four indicators that together capture the multidimensional nature of hunger.

• Undernourishment: the share of the population with insufficient caloric intake.
• Child stunting: the share of children under age five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition.
• Child wasting: the share of children under age five who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition.
• Child mortality: the share of children who die before their fifth birthday, partly reflecting the fatal mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments.

Government Initiatives

• Eat Right India Movement
• POSHAN Abhiyan
• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana
• Food Fortification
• National Food Security Act, 2013
• Mission Indradhanush
• Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme