Winter Session: WCD Minister Smriti Irani rubbishes Global Hunger Index 2021 report
The Global Hunger Index (GHI), which ranked India 107th among 121 countries in 2022, does not reflect India’s true picture, said the Government of India to Parliament on Wednesday. In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said the report is neither appropriate nor representative of hunger prevalent in the country.
“Global Hunger Index (GHI) does not reflect India’s true picture as it is a flawed measure of ‘Hunger’. It should not be taken at face value as it is neither appropriate nor representative of hunger prevalent in a country,” Irani said in response to a question by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Kumar Jha. The Minister said that out of the four indicators taken into account for the GHI, only one — undernourishment — is directly related to hunger.
“The two indicators, namely, Stunting and Wasting are outcomes of complex interactions of various other factors like sanitation, genetics, environment, and utilization of food intake apart from hunger which is taken as the causative/ outcome factor for stunting and wasting in the GHI. Also, there is hardly any evidence that the fourth indicator, namely, child mortality is an outcome of hunger,” Irani said.
In response to a question on malnourishment-related deaths in children, Irani said malnutrition is not a direct cause of death among children under five, but it can increase morbidity and mortality by reducing resistance to infections.
Stating that malnourished children are more vulnerable to any infection than normal children, the minister said dis-aggregated data regarding child mortality due to malnutrition is not available. As per the Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report published by the Office of Registrar General of India, Under-5 Mortality Rate (per 1000 live births) has reduced from 35 in 2019 to 32 in 2020.
Mentioning the National Food Security Act, under which 75 percent of the rural population and 50 percent of the urban population are to be covered, Irani said against the intended coverage of 81.35 crore individuals in the 2011 Census, the states/ union territories have already identified 80.03 crores, individuals.
The Minister also mentioned government programs like the Poshan Abhiyan, which focuses on the nourishment of children, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers through Anganwadi.
According to the data provided by the Ministry, 18.7 percent of women and 16.2 percent of men in India have Body Mass Index below normal. As per National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21), around 35.5 percent of children under five of age are stunted, 19.3 percent are ‘wasted’, which means their weight for age proportion is low, 32.1 percent are underweight, and 3.4 percent are overweight.
When the Global Hunger Index report-2022 was published by German – Irish NGOs, the government in October said the report was totally erroneous, spreading misinformation. “The index is an erroneous measure of hunger and suffers from serious methodological issues. Misinformation seems to be the hallmark of the annually released Global Hunger Index,” said the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The report is prepared jointly by two NGOs – Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and German organisation Welt Hunger Hilfe.
“A consistent effort is yet again visible to taint India’s image as a nation that does not fulfill the food security and nutritional requirements of its population. Misinformation seems to be the hallmark of the annually released Global Hunger Index. The Global Hunger Report 2022 released by Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, non-government organisations from Ireland and Germany respectively, has ranked India at 107th among 121 countries,” said the government rejected the report prepared by foreign NGOs.[1]
Reference:
[1] India rejects Irish & German NGOs prepared ‘Global Hunger Report – 2022’. Terms the data erroneous and spreading misinformation – Oct 15, 2022, PGurus.com
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India is worse than Pakistan as per this report. I take this aa a joke… Nothing more.
Pakistan is unable to issue financial guarantees for the 400 food containers waiting at its Karachi airport for past 20 days for want of foreign exchange US $ 2 million. India is not in that condition.
Stop all begging funds donated from West. They will sink in that same $ $ & go to graves.
West has created many facades & tools to crow beat any nation. Inspite of such hunger & malnutrition, Asia population is grown & West is declining !! Western intellect is coming down and India is rising
NO point in crying or shouting against these Western systems, ignore & moving forward is the way.
Does India need any begging funds from United Nations or any Western country to make a living ? Indian need to stand on its own legs (irrespective of it being how strong or weak it is)
This person was okay so long as she displayed her assets in fashion and beauty parades. Whenever she opens her mouth it shows her lack of knowledge and the will to speak the truth but only pander to Namo.
The only thing she knows is she will loose all relevance if she is removed.
Sir – accept the fact that she is speaking truth. To say truth, no qualifications are required.