World Food Day: People in Metro cities are updating their devices to use 5G now. In 2022, where the Internet and political views are more relevant for some, the alternate reality lives right next to your high-rise apartments. United Nations is once again celebrating World Food Day on Sunday and Director-General QU Dongyu has asked countries to come together and move from ‘despair to hope and action’. There are still many mouths which go unfed in our age.
World Food Day is celebrated on 16th October (Sunday) every year to remind us of the importance of nourishment. India has fallen to the 107th position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2022, out of 121 countries, from its 2021 position of 101st. India is behind its neighbours Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. In the 2022 Global Hunger Index, India ranked 107th out of 121 countries. In the wake of this serious hunger issue, World Food Day is very relevant for India to create awareness about proper nourishment and ensure sufficient food for its people.
How Global Hunger Index Is Measured?
The GHI score is calculated on four indicators — undernourishment; child wasting (the share of children under the age of five who are wasted i.e who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition); child stunting (children under the age of five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition) and child mortality (the mortality rate of children under the age of five).
Relevance For India
India has slipped to the 101st position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 of 116 countries, from its 2020 position of 94th, and is behind its neighbours Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. With a score of 29.1, the level of hunger in India has been labelled “serious”. According to the report, India’s child wasting rate, at 19.3 per cent, is the highest of any country in the world. According to World Poverty Clock in 2022, roughly 6% or 83,068,597 (83 million) of the population are living in poverty.
World Needs To Take Hunger Seriously
The GHI said the world is facing a serious setback in efforts to end hunger with conflict, the climate crisis and the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by the war in Ukraine are major drivers of hunger. The report warned that the situation is expected to deteriorate further as global crises overlap.
India’s Sharp Response To Poor Hunger Index Rating
The Centre rejected the findings, alleging it is an effort to taint the country’s image and the index suffers from serious methodological issues and is an “erroneous measure” of hunger, while opposition leaders said the government must take responsibility for its “failure”. With a score of 29.1, the level of hunger in India has been labelled “serious”.
Wheat Shortage In India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year in April in an event said that India was capable of providing foodgrain supplies to other countries if needed. The PM said that if the WTO allows we have a huge reservoir of foodgrains which will be sufficient to nourish the whole world. “The world is facing a new problem now; the food stock of the world is getting empty, I was talking to the US President, and he also raised this issue. I suggested that if WTO gives permission, India is ready to supply food stock to the world from tomorrow”, Modi said.
But six months later the scenario looks different. According to the government agencies reports, the foodgrain stocks have depleted and are now at a 5-year low. According to the FCI, the foodgrain stocks are marginally above the mandatory level. According to an Indian Express report, the FCI stock for wheat and rice has been reduced to 511.36 lakh tonnes. The previous year the stock was around 816 lakh tonnes. Wheat stocks are at 227.5.
This Year’s Theme
The event aims at creating awareness about the importance of nourishment by organising hundreds of events and outreach activities around the world bringing together governments, businesses, the public and the media to promote awareness and action for those suffering from hunger. This year’s theme is ‘Leave NO ONE behind’.
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