SOCIAL BLES | ICE HUNGER IN INDIA+ Hunger is @ condition in which a person cannot eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs for a sustained period. Hunger can manifest itself in different ways - undemourishment, malnutrition and wasting. + Goal 2 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda seeks to end hunger and all forms of mainutrition, and double agricultural productivity between 2015-2020. GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX 2023 + India has slipped to 111th position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2023 of 125 countries, from its 2022 position of 107.HUNGER IN INDIA GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX (GHI) India's GHI score is'28!7/on a 100-point scale where 0 is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. From 2000 to 2015, India made good strides in the GHI rank while from 2045, India has advanced on the GHI by only The |, which is. considered The in the world are ind + Each region has a GHI score of 27, indicating ‘serious’ hunger.HUNGER IN INDIA . Fe a aiasall INDIAN GOVT. RESPONSE TO THE REPORT + The Indian Government has féjected the 2023 + The region with the GHI rank of 1.11 for India, just like it did for the [ERIE wrose score or ls revious two years, citing it“ considered ‘low’. + According to the report, the + The GHI used the child wasting value of because of multiple factors 18.7% from the National Family Health = Survey 5 (2019-2021) whereas the such as the Ukraine war, Pete. jovernment said that data recorded on its Poshan Tracker portal showea child wasting prevalence of 7.2% among a total of 7.24 crore under-five-year-olds whose data was captured. + The GHI coe a : that it uses theHUNGER IN INDIA WHAT IS THE GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX? + The Global Hunger Index (GH) is a tool for 4. UNDERNOURISHMENT: the share of the population comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at Whose @lonieritake Is Insufficient. global, regional, and national levels. The Global 2. CHIEDISTUNTING: the share of children under the age Hunger Index aims to track hunger at the world, of five who have low height for their age regional and country levels. GHI scores are based 7 on the values of four eomponent indicators S.MIBIEEEEIE fn share of cnldren under the age of 4, CHILDMORTALITY: the mortality rate of children under the age of five (a reflection of the fatal mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments). + GHI ranks countries on a 100-point scale, 0 representing zero/no hunger. The GHI scores are based on four indicators. Taken together, the component indicators reflect deficiencies in calories as well as in micronutrients. Thus, the GHi reflects both aspects of hunger (undernutrition and malnutrition).HUNGER IN INDIA REASONS BEHIND INDIA'S PERSISTENT PROBLEM OF HUNGER + A)Poverty! Poverty restricts food choices and has been the causative factor of hunger related deaths. + 2. Multidimensional/nature: Hunger and undernutrition result from various associated factors ranging from water, sanitation, and access to food items. + 3. Ineffective food policy implementation: The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and the National Health Mission (NHM) lack adequate coverage. + 4, Climate lchange impact: Erratic rainfall and increasing frequency of extreme events have impacted agricultural activities everywhere creating unfavourable conditions for food a ee + 5,[Cortliption: Corruption in PDS is widely recognised. PDS a food distribution scheme is mired with inefficiencies and corrupt practices denying food to many. 6. 1SsU6S With agriclilflire: The change from multi to mono-cropping systems limits the diversity of agricultural products. 7. Food wastage: It undermines the efforts to end hunger and malnutrition. According to the FAO, the global volume of food wastage is estimated at 1.6 billion tonnes of primary product equivalents. 8. Unstable markets: Rising food prices make it difficult for the poorest people to get nutritious food consistently which is exactly what they need to. do.HUNGER IN INDIA + 9. Natiifal disasters: Natural disasters such as Trend for Indicator Values -India = floods, tropical storms and long periods of drought are on the increase with catastrophic 2 consequences for the hungry poor in developing oo ~ countries. + 10, Geni@mlineqUAIIR): In many parts women’s wut Nutritional requirements are often unmet as they consume whatever is left after everyone elsehas eaten. Similarly the nutritional needs of girl children are os not adequately addressed in our society. i: = Proportion of undernourished in the population = Prevalence of wasting in children under fve years “ Prevalence of stunting in hileren under five years Under-tive moray rateHUNGER IN INDIA CONCERNS/EFFECTS + Nutritional anaemia is implicated! in low physical + As per World Bank Malnutrition 66stSIndialatieast, = 94 Mental performance. $a0biligtlionnualty in terms of lost productivity, * According to UNICER//one in three malnourished illness, and death and is seriously retarding children in the world is Indian. improvements in human development and further It is estimated that reducing mainutrition could add reduction of childhood mortality. some 3% to India’s GDP. + While mortality has declined by half and fertility by two-fifths + Malnourishment can also significantly lower subsequently result in lower productivity.HUNGER IN INDIA REASONS FOR HIGH CHILD MALNUTRITION IN INDIA + Historical antecedentsisuch as poverty, illiteracy, inequality, poor sanitation and food shortage. * The was made to tackle this issue. The contemporary trends in budgetary allocations to nutrition appear to be counterintuitive (allocation towards child nutrition has been dropping since 2020-21). + Malnutrition rates in some parts of the country are highest among children and women, due primarily and such harmful childcare ma as Underlying these are household food insecurity, inadequate preventative and curative health services, and insufficient knowledge of proper care + COVERAGE: While , for example, absorbs 0.5 per cent of GDP, it + EXCLUSION: While sa creates dite exclusion,HUNGER IN INDIA * Poor status of women and mother’s lack of education 2 Prevalent child manage is acting as a limiting factor in improving the health of children. (India has the highest absolute number of child brides in the world - UNICEF) + Severs or and in ine worsening rate of malnutrition could be a result of women struggling to access nutrition benefits. + ClimateChange: Nearly 2/3r d of all malnourished people live in countries with high exposure to climate extremes. Effati aiid irr@gular in66me of landless workers Micronutrient deficiencies: India's Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS 2016-48) has highlighted the role of micronutrient malnutrition - anemia and other micronutrient deficiencies. Lack of data, Lack of real-time data monitoring, sustainability and accountability results in govt initiatives always lagging. !: Various ministries and departments related to healthcare often operate in isolation.HUNGER IN INDIA CONCERNING DATA + 36% of children under the age of five are Underweight (too light for their age) and 24)9#/are! wasted (too light for their height). FAO) + Vitamin deficiencies are common in India, with 75 % of the population not getting enough from their food intake. (FAO) + Rates of anemia are also high, as 54196 of women of reproductive age have low levels of iron. + 14.8% of the population is undernourished in india (FAO) * Starvation deaths are also common in some parts of Jharkhand and BiharHUNGER IN INDIA CHALLENGES TO FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA India has been successful in ensuring that its population has access to food, but it has failed to ensure that it includes the necessary diversity in the types of food available. Micronutrient deficiencies are common in India, mainly because of a focus on calorie availability and not dietary diversity. itis estimated that about 62,000 tonnes of stored grain, mainly rice and wheat, were damaged between 2011 and 2017 due to pest infestations and exposure to rain. Poor water management and subsidies that encourage wasteful practices in agricultural production could come to present a threat to Indian food security. Attention was drawn to this “yield gap” in the Indian Ministry of Finance's 2015-16 Economic Survey. Can cause irreversible damage to natural resources and a loss in productivity, if left unchecked.HUNGER IN INDIA + Disproportionate Subsidies: Subsidies disproportionately benefit owners of large landholdings also adversely impacting the environment. According to the Indian National Sample Survey Office, most Indian farmers possess less than one hectare of land, which is not enough to achieve food security through subsistence farming. + Other: Rapidly growing population, resource constraints agrarian distress and continued agitation by farmers accompanied by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemicHUNGER IN INDIA GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES FOR FOOD SECURITY + Food and Nutrition Security: National cooked Mid-day Meal Program, ICDS, Kishori Shakti Yojana, a Nutrition program for Adolescent Girls and Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana. * Mid-Day Meal Program: It is the world’s largest school feeding program reaching out to about 12 crore children across the country. The program aims at enhancing enrolment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children.HUNGER IN INDIA Public Distribution System (PDS): It plays an important role in the provision of food security, the PDS in India is perhaps the largest distribution network of its type in the world. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY): It contemplates the identification of one crore poorest of the poor families from amongst the BPL families covered under TPDS within the States and providing them food grains at a highly subsidized rate Poshan Abhiyan: Aims to reduce malnutrition, through a life-cycle concept, adopting a synergised and result-oriented approach.