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Health

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October 13, 2017

India has to go a long way to achieve zero hunger enshrined under Sustainable Development Goals. Discuss it with respect to the recent Global Hunger Index Report.

Refer - Business Standard

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IAS Parliament 6 years

KEY POINTS

·         Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has recently released the Global Hunger Index (GHI) report.

·         India's 100th rank among 119 countries calls for serious attention to the issue.

·          India is at the high end of the “serious” category.

The GHI score is a multidimensional index composed of four indicators:

·         Proportion of undernourished in the population.

·         Mortality rate of children under the age of five (deaths per 1000 live births).

·         Proportion of children under five suffering from wasting (low weight for height).

·         Proportion of children under five suffering from stunting (lower height than typical for age).

Anomalies

  • India has taken some successful measures in addressing lack of access to food.
  • E.g. The Food Security Act, mid-day meals, ICDS, etc.
  • India has witnessed a decline in stunting and a sharp fall in under-5 mortality in the last 25 years.
  • India is thus not "hungry" in terms of calorific intake.
  • However, the calorific intake is poorly reflected in the physiological outcomes such as height and weight.

·         Despite the relative progress over the years, the numbers remain still high for child wasting and stunting.

Causes

·         Household's poor access to sanitation, is said to be the prime cause for child wasting and stunting.

·         Poor sanitation causes poor absorption of nutrients.

·         The ill-effects of open defecation and water contamination are hampering the possible positive results of nutrients intake.

·         Water-borne diseases like diarrhoea have been responsible for most of the under-5 deaths.

Way ahead

·         It is essential for India to take measures on improving sanitation and fighting related infections.

·         The children and their caregivers should be trained to follow hygienic practices and take healthy foods.

·         Inequality in all its forms must be addressed to meet Sustainable Development Goal 2 of Zero Hunger for everyone by 2030.

·         This can not only improve India's ranking but also render meaningful its efforts on food security.

Ravi 6 years

Please correct if any mistakes

IAS Parliament 6 years

Content is good. To be more relevant to the question, analyse performance of India with respect to the indicators of Global Hunger Index.

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