India slips to 101st rank in Global Hunger Index 2021; behind Pak, B'desh, Nepal

India has slipped to 101st position in the Global Hunger Index GHI 2021 of 116 countries from its 2020 position of 94th and is behind its neighbours Pakistan Bangladesh and NepalEighteen countries including China Brazil and Kuwait shared the top rank with GHI score of less than five the website of the Global Hunger Index that tracks hunger and malnutrition said on ThursdayThe report prepared jointly by Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and German organisation Welt Hunger Hilfe termed the level of hunger in India alarmingIn 2020 India was ranked 94th out of 107 countries Now with 116 countries in the fray it has dropped to 101st rankIndias GHI score has also decelerated from 388 in 2000 to the range of 288 275 between 2012 and 2021The GHI score is calculated on four indicators undernourishment child wasting the share of children under the age of five who are wasted ie who have low weight for their height reflecting acute undernutrition child stunting children under the age of five who have low height for their age reflecting chronic undernutrition and child mortality the mortality rate of children under the age of fiveThe share of wasting among children in India rose from 171 per cent between 19982002 to 173 per cent between 20162020 according to the reportAlso read You wont believe which country has beaten India on the GHIPeople have been severely hit by Covid19 and by pandemic related restrictions in India the country with highest child wasting rate worldwide the report saidNeighbouring countries like Nepal 76 Bangladesh 76 Myanmar 71 and Pakistan 92 are also in the alarming hunger category but have fared better at feeding its citizens than India according to the reportHowever India has shown improvement in other indicators such as the under5 mortality rate prevalence of stunting among children and prevalence of undernourishment owing to inadequate food the report saidAccording to the report the fight against hunger is dangerously off track Based on the current GHI projections the world as a whole and 47 countries in particular will fail to achieve a low level of hunger by 2030Food security is under assault on multiple fronts it said adding that worsening conflict weather extremes associated with global climate change and the economic and health challenges associated with the Covid19 pandemic are all driving hungerInequality between regions countries districts and communities is pervasive and if left unchecked will keep the world from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal SDG mandate to leave no one behind the report saidFurther the report noted that it is difficult to be optimistic in 2021 because the forces now driving hunger are overpowering good intentions and lofty goalsAmong the most powerful and toxic of these forces are conflict climate change and COVID19iquestthree Cs that threaten to wipe out any progress that has been made against hunger in recent years it addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever