Global Hunger Index 2010
Hunger haunts India
India is among 29 countries with the highest levels of hunger, stunted
children and poorly fed women, according to the International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI)’s “Global Hunger Index 2010” released on Oct 11,
2010. Despite a strong economy that was last week predicted to overtake China’s
within three years by The Economist magazine, India ranked ti7th among 85
countries in terms of access to food.
The report points to widespread hunger in a country that is the world’s
largest producer of milk and edible oils, and the second- largest producer of
wheat and sugar.
The country has a high “hunger score” of 24.1 and ranks behind all its
neighbours, barring Bangladesh. Values between 20 and 29.9 on the index denote
an “alarming” hunger situation.
Globally, the world is nowhere near meeting the target of the UN’s goal of
halving the proportion of hungry people.
India also runs the world’s largest free-meal programme for school-going
children. Yet, the 2010 hunger report reveals that more than 90 per cent of the
world’s stunted children (whose height is low for their age) live in Asian
countries, such as India and Bangladesh, apart from some Africa countries.
The highest regional hunger indices — suggesting the worst performers —are
almost the same for South Asian countries, such as India, and Sub-Saharan
African nations, such as Congo.
India is among countries with “hunger levels considerably higher that their
gross national income per capita would suggest”. “It’s kind of ironic,” Ashok
Gulati, Asia director of the Washington- based IFPRI said.
The IFPRI hunger index — complied in partnership with German NGO
Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide —ranks countries on three equally
weighted indicators: the proportion of undernourished, the proportion of
underweight children under five, and the child mortality rate.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) defines hunger as the
consumption of fewer than 1,800 kilocalories a day — the minimum required to
live a healthy and productive life.
What is Global Hunger Index
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a multidimensional statistical tool used to
describe the state of countries’ hunger situation. The GHI measures progress and
failures in the global fight against hunger. The GHI is updated once a year.
The Index was adopted and further developed by the International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI), and was first published in 200ti with the
Welthungerhilfe, a German nonprofit organization (NGO). Since 2007, the Irish
NGO Concern Worldwide joined the group as co-publisher.
The 2009 GHI was calculated for 121 developing countries and countries in
transition, 84 of which were ranked. Every year, the GHI report focuses on a
main topic: in 2009 the Index measures the connection between hunger and gender
equality. In addition, the impact of the financial crisis on the hunger
situation was analyzed. In additional to the yearly GHI, the Hunger Index for
the States of India (ISHI) was published in 2008 and the Sub-National Hunger
Index for Ethiopia was published in 2009.
Calculation of the Index
The Index ranks countries on a 100 point scale, with 0 being the best score
("no hunger") and 100 being the worst, though neither of these extremes is
achieved in practice. The higher the score, the worse the food situation of a
country. Values less than 4.9 reflect "low hunger", values between 5 and 9.9
reflect "moderate hunger", values between 10 and 19.9 indicate a "serious",
values between 20 and 29.9 are "alarming", and values exceeding 30 are
"extremely alarming" hunger problem.
