'Flawed, Malafide Intent': India Rejects Global Hunger Index

The Centre has rejected the 2023 Global Hunger Index in which India is ranked 111th and said that it is a flawed measure of "hunger" that does not reflect the country's true position.

In a statement, The Women and Child Development Ministry said the index is an erroneous measure of hunger and suffers from serious methodological issues. Three of the four metrics employed in computing the index pertain to children's well-being, making them inadequate for gauging the overall population. The fourth crucial metric, the 'Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population,' relies on an opinion poll conducted with a very limited sample size of 3000, diminishing its reliability.

"The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023 (SOFI 2023)" report released by FAO estimates PoU for India at 16.6%. The FAO estimate is based on "Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)" survey conducted through Gallop World Poll which is an "opinion poll" based on "8 questions" with a sample size of "3000 respondents". The data collected from a miniscule sample for a country of India's size through FIES has been used to compute PoU value for India which is not only wrong and unethical, it also reeks of obvious bias," the government said.

According to the index, the rate of undernourishment in India stood at 16.6 per cent and under-five mortality at 3.1 per cent.

The Centre further countered the claims that since April 2023, the measurement data of children under five years uploaded on the Poshan Tracker has consistently increased - from 6.34 crore in April 2023 to 7.24 crore in September 2023.

"The percentage of child wasting, as seen on the Poshan Tracker, has been consistently below 7.2%, month-on-month, as compared to the value of 18.7% used for child wasting in the Global Hunger Index 2023," the statement added.

Two additional metrics, specifically Stunting and Wasting, result from intricate interplays of numerous factors such as sanitation, genetics, environment, and food intake utilization. These factors, apart from hunger, contribute to stunting and wasting, which are considered as outcomes in the GHI. Additionally, there's scarce evidence indicating that child mortality, the fourth indicator, directly stems from hunger, the statement added.