Bhuvan Bhaskar
There is a ruckus on the Global Hunger Index. According to the index, there is terrible hunger in India. Concern Worldwide of Ireland and Welt Hunger Highlife of Germany, two organizations prepare and release this index every year. It does not include developed countries and countries with very low population, for which these institutions have their own arguments. Overall, 116-117 countries survive to be included in the index according to their parameters and this year India ranks 101st among those countries. Last year (2020) it was 94th and last year (2019) it was number 102.
The Indian government has questioned the reliability of the entire methodology of preparing this index and rejected the report. Obviously, if there is a situation of starvation in a country, then no one other than the government can be responsible for it and hence the quick and angry reaction of the Indian government is natural. But for any of us as citizens of India, India’s slippage in the index is really a matter of concern. Therefore, an independent analysis is necessary to understand this index and India’s position in it.
India’s rank in Global Hunger Index fell to 101, behind Pakistan, Nepal
There are two parameters to measure the credibility of any report: the background of the author and the process of its preparation. In this context, the first thing that should be kept in mind about this index is that both these organizations that make it are non-government. The prejudice towards Asia and especially India in Western institutions is well known. Organizations such as Amnesty International, which allegedly work to protect human rights around the world, are notorious for often lobbying on the side of terrorists.
And why private, even global institutions like the United Nations are seen working in terms of funding. After decades of working as US captives, such global multilateral institutions now appear to defend China’s every wrong move.
Whether it is the animalistic treatment of Uighur Muslims, the horrific atrocities that are happening to Buddhists in Tibet or the investigation into the origin of the corona epidemic that brought the entire world to its knees – one from a global organization against China Even factual reports do not come out.
In such a situation, the first thing is that no index created by any Irish or German organization can be the ultimate truth. But it would be an exaggeration to dismiss it as a lie only on the ground that many other institutions are working as part of the global propaganda machinery. What is the solution then? The solution is to understand the process of creating this index.
The Hunger Index has three broad scales of score – inadequate food supply, child mortality (under the age of 5) and child malnutrition. The weightage of these three is 33.33%. There are two scales to measure child malnutrition – wasting and stunting. Wasting means how much the child’s weight is less than the standard in terms of age and stunting means how much is the child’s height, less than the standard in terms of age. The weights of these two scales are divided in half in 33.33%.
The question is, in what places did Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Highlife survey, from what sources, and through what processes, to collect these data?
In fact, both the institutions have neither done any ground survey nor based any authentic data to make the Hunger Index. The basis for this has been made an estimate by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). And then based on that estimate conducted telephonic surveys from Gallup Management Consultancy Company, an American analytics and advisory company based in Washington.
Gallup specializes in conducting public opinion polls. Yes, the same opinion polls, which we keep seeing in our TV channels before the different assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Which has no credibility and no accountability. That is, this index in itself has no importance.
It is actually part of a propaganda driven by funding needs and global political commitments by many international organizations that have neither adhered to established standards nor established procedures.
India objected to Global Hunger Index, said- report prepared by unscientific method
The credibility of this index is also evident from its findings. Take a look at the names of 15 countries which are below India in the index. Papua New Guinea (102), Afghanistan and Nigeria (103), Congo (105), Mozambique and Sierra Leone (106), Timor-Leste (108), Haiti (109), Liberia (110), Madagascar (111), Democratic Republic of Congo (112), Chad (113), Central African Republic (114), Yemen (115) and Somalia (116). In this index, Pakistan is ranked 92nd, Nepal, Bangladesh 76th and Sri Lanka 65th.
Now let’s talk about common sense. Neither common sense nor readily available economic data has been used to prepare this hunger index, which puts India at the level of Afghanistan, Nigeria and Congo. How much you can spend on food and drink depends on two things.
First, how much is your income and second, what is the cost of food and drink around you? That is, the first two factors to determine the Hunger Index are per capita income and food inflation to understand the food supply and malnutrition (ie, not getting enough nutrients through food). let’s watch.
According to World Bank data, India’s per capita income in 2020 was US$ 1900.7 annually. It is 1193.7 in Pakistan, 1155.1 in Nepal, 1968.8 in Bangladesh and 3682 US dollars in Sri Lanka annually. Look at inflation. Food inflation in India was less than 1% in June 2021.
In Pakistan during 2020-21, this figure was around 16%. Food inflation is growing at 5.34% in Bangladesh, 4.64% in Nepal and food inflation in Sri Lanka by 11.5 percent in August 2021 as compared to the same month last year. Also look at the third criterion, the child mortality rate. As per 2019 figures, infant mortality in Pakistan was 55.7 per 1000, in Nepal it was 30.8, while in India it was 28.3.
Apart from these, the Government of India distributed food grains to 80 crore people at the peak of Corona last year. Despite all the shortcomings in MNREGA, it has been recognized as the world’s largest rural employment scheme. India’s PDS system, despite all its flaws, delivers ration to the last person of the society and we do not need any World Bank, FAO or UNICEF report to know this. In the remote forest dwelling villages of Chhattisgarh, this author has told people to get food grains under PDS.
On the basis of these readily available data, it can be easily understood that the reliability of this Hunger Index giving Pakistan 92nd rank and India 101st is doubtful.
However, even after dismissing the report, it would be wrong to turn a blind eye to the fact that crores of children in our country are deprived of nutritious food. Without getting distracted by such global reports, the government needs to go beyond just alleviating hunger for its children, women, old people and other needy and formulate policies to make them strong and strong citizens.
The announcement made in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech from the Red Fort on August 15 to “fortify” the PDS grains assures that we as a country are moving in the right direction.
(The author is a specialist in economic and agricultural matters)
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