GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX

1. Context

2. Global Hunger Index

• It is a peer-reviewed annual report that endeavours to "comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional and country levels".
• The authors of the report primarily refer to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) which endeavours to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030.
• According to them, the report attempts to "raise awareness and understanding of the struggle against hunger".

3. Four Metrics

• Undernourishment, as per the authors, provides a basis to measure inadequate access to food and is among the lead indicators for international hunger targets, including the UN SDG 2.
• Child stunting and mortality offer perspective on the Child's vulnerability to nutritional deficiencies, access to food and quality of nutrition.
• Since children (especially those below five) are at a developmental age there is a greater and more urgent requirement for nutrition with results particular visible.
• This forms the basis for assessing nutritional requirements among children.
• Adults are at a sustainable age they are not growing but rather subsisting on nutrition for healthy survival.
• on the same rationale, child mortality indicates the serious consequences of hunger.

4. Allegations

• As per the Ministry for Women and Child Development, the report lowers India's rank based on the estimates of the Proportion of the Undernourished (PoU) Population.
• It elaborates that the U.S. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimate is based on the "Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) survey module conducted using the Gallup World Poll, which bears a sample size of 3, 000 respondents being asked eight questions.
• It stated that the data represented a minuscule proportion for a country of India's size.
• It countered the assertions in the report pointing to India's per capita dietary energy supply increasing year-on-year due to enhanced production of major agricultural commodities in the country over the years.

5. Clarifications

• The GHI website provides important clarifications on these points raised by the government.

1. Prevalence of undernourishment and
2. The prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity based on FIES.

• The GHI only uses the PoU obtained through food balance sheets based on data reported by member countries, including India.
• A food balance sheet provides a comprehensive picture of the pattern of a country's food supply during a specified reference period.
• It lists the source of the supply and its utilisation specific to each food category.

6. Child-Specific indicators

• The GHI uses three child-specific indicators out of the four to calculate hunger for a country's population.
• By combining the proportion of undernourished in the population (1/3 of the GHI Score) with the indicators relating to children under age five (2/3 of the GHI score), the GHI ensures that both the food supply situation of the population as a whole and the effects of inadequate nutrition within a vulnerable a subset of the population is captured.

7. Controversy

• According to the Ministry, the report is not only disconnected from ground reality but also chooses to ignore the food security efforts of the Central Government, especially during the pandemic.
• The Union Cabinet through the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) provisioned an additional 5 kg ration per person each month in addition to their normal quota of foodgrains.
• These schemes helped ease the situation but fell short of being adequate.

For Prelims & Mains