India slips in 2023 Global Hunger Index, government questions findings
India has been ranked 111 out of 125 nations in the 2023 Global Hunger Index (GHI), a significant drop from its position in 2022, when it was ranked 107 (out of 121 countries). Since the findings were published, the Indian government has rejected the 2023 GHI ranking, claiming that the report "suffers from serious methodological issues" and doesn't reflect the country's true position.
Why does this story matter?
This is not the first time that India has questioned GHI's rankings. After the nation dropped below 100th rank in 2021, the Centre attacked the report by labeling it "shocking" and "devoid of ground realities." While the Indian government alleged that the method used to construct the GHI was unscientific, the report's publishers dismissed the allegations.
Details on GHI's 2023 report
Released on Thursday, the latest GHI report put India's child wasting rate at 18.7%, the highest in the world during 2018-22, and claimed it reflected acute undernutrition. Meanwhile, the rate of undernourishment in India stood at 16.6% and the prevalence of anemia at 58.1% in women aged between 15 and 24 years. With this, the country's overall score has been put at 28.7 and is categorized as serious by GHI.
India ranked below Pakistan in 2023 GHI
Surprisingly, India's neighbors performed better in the 2023 report—Sri Lanka (60), Nepal (69th), Bangladesh (81), and Pakistan (102). It is worth noting that the worldwide hunger index is released each year by Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide, non-government organizations from Germany and Ireland, respectively.
Government's response to GHI report
However, India's Women and Child Development Ministry hit back at the GHI report, stating, "Three out of the four indicators used for the calculation of the index are related to the health of children and cannot be representative of the entire population." "The fourth and most important indicator, Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) Population, is based on an opinion poll conducted on a very small sample size of 3,000," Business Line quoted the ministry stating.
Ministry quotes 'Poshan Tracker' data
The ministry also added that the proportion of child wasting, determined through the "Poshan Tracker," is consistently under 7.2% month-on-month, compared to 18.7% in the GHI report. Notably, the Poshan Tracker is the ministry's monitoring tool that records real-time data on malnourished and "severe acute malnourished" children in each anganwadi. Moreover, it added that there is barely any proof that child mortality is an outcome of hunger.
