Global Hunger Index 2022

October 15, 2022

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2022 was released recently.

The GHI has been released since 2000 by the European NGOs – Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
It aims to track prevalence of global hunger by region and by country.
A low score means the country will be ranked higher, implying a better performance.
Its ultimate aim is to help the world achieve “Zero Hunger by 2030” – one of the SDGs of the United Nations. It does not rank certain high income countries.
It focuses on 4 main parameters – undernourishment (inadequate food), child wasting (acute undernutrition among children), child stunting (chronic undernutrition) and child mortality (inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environment).
Countries scoring less than or equal to 9.9 on a 100-point scale will come under “low” category of hunger.
The “serious” category countries are those that score between 20 and 34.9 and “extremely alarming” category countries are those scoring above 50.

World is witnessing a serious setback in global efforts towards ending hunger because of war in Ukraine, climate crisis and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This situation is exacerbated by underlying factors of hunger like structural inequality and power asymmetries in the food system.
Goal of “Zero Hunger” will not be achieved because of these challenges.
An estimated 46 countries will not achieve even a “low” level of hunger by the end of this decade.
In 2022, the global hunger (measured by a GHI score of 18.2) is categorized as moderate. This is a decrease from the 2014 value (19.1).
Since 2014, hunger has spiked in 20 countries with moderate, serious or alarming scores.
Increased undernourishment has made a comeback after decades of decline. An estimated 828 million people are undernourished in 2021 – a significant reversal of decades of progress.
Child wasting rate has stagnated and child mortality rate and child stunting rates continue to decrease.
Hunger levels in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (top 2 regions with highest hunger levels) are serious.
South Asia has the highest child stunting rate and highest child wasting rate in the world.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest undernourishment rate and child mortality rate in the world.
Climate change is the major hurdle that will prevent the world from achieving “Zero Hunger” target.

Out of 121 countries, India’s GHI ranking fell from 101 in 2021 to 107 this year.
It is ranked behind its neighbors – Nepal (81), Pakistan (99), Sri Lanka (64) and Bangladesh (84).
Afghanistan, at the 109^th position, is the only Asian country ranked behind India.
India’s score in all four indicators was poor, especially for the prevalence of child wasting.
Child wasting has increased from 15.1 in 2014 to 19.3 and child undernourishment increased from 14.8 in 2014 to 16.3.
India has the highest child wasting rate in the world – higher than it was in 1998-1999.
India improved its performance in other two indicators – child mortality (3.3) and child stunting (35.5).