Skip to main content

Top global report praises UPA govt effort in 2005-14 to reduce hunger, after bringing in major policy changes

Counterview Desk
Even as ranking India 80th in Global Hunger Index (GHI) among 104 developing countries, a new study, carried out by a group of research organizations led by the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) says that the country’s has been able to successfully fight against child undernutrition in India after 2005.
Giving full mark to the Government of India (GoI) rulers of the period till 2014, the report – which has been prepared in coordination with Concern Worldwide, Welthungerhilfe (Bonn) and World Peace Foundation (Dublin) – says that in India, “wasting in children fell from 20 per cent to 15 per cent between 2005–2006 and 2013–2014, and stunting fell from 48 percent to 39 percent.”
The study is based on a calculation of four indicators: percentage of the population that is undernourished, of children under five years old who suffer from wasting (low weight for height), of children under five years old who suffer from stunting (low height for age), and of children who die before the age of five (child mortality).
The calculation results in “GHI scores on a 100-point scale where 0 is the best score (no hunger) and 100 the worst” the study says, adding, “Across regions and countries, GHI scores vary considerably.” India’s GHI was 48.1 in 1990, reduced to 42.3 in 1995, slightly came down to 38.2 in 2000, then increased to 38.5, and went down to 29.0 in 2015.
The best GHI score is of Kuwait – just 5.0 – and the worst is that of the Central African Republic, 46.9. While Pakistan, with a GHI score of 33.9, ranks 93rd, one of the worst in the world, Bangladesh, with a GHI score of 27.3, is a little better than India, ranking 73rd.
Despite India's improvement, South Asia's performance is worst among all world regions
Among the BRICS countries, which India considers as its main competitors, Russia’s GHI score is 6.6, ranking 11th. Brazil is found to be much better than all the 104 countries with a GHI score of less than 5.0 and has not been included the list. As for China, it ranks No 21 with a GHI score of 8.6, and South Africa with a score of 12.4 ranks No 38th.
The study believes, the improvement in India has happened because the GoI during 2005 and 2014 “scaled up nutrition-specific interventions over the past decade”, including
  • “a final drive to expand the Integrated Child Development Services program that aims to improve the health, nutrition, and development of children in India; and 
  • “the creation of the National Rural Health Mission, a community-based health initiative designed to deliver essential health services to rural India.”
Even as saying that South Asia’s GHI score, after declining “at a moderate rate between 1990 and 2000”, with progress stalling between 2000 and 2005 “before hunger levels dropped again between 2005 and 2015”, the study says, it largely due to India that the region’s GHI dropped by “more than 8 points.”
“However”, the study underlines, “Progress in reducing child undernutrition has been uneven across India’s states. While the reasons for the improvements—or lack thereof—are not entirely clear, one factor that seems to correlate with undernutrition in India is open defecation, which contributes to illnesses that prevent the absorption of nutrients.”
“Additionally”, the study says, “The low social status of women, which affects women’s health and nutrition, makes it more likely that babies will be born underweight.”

Comments

TRENDING

'Violation of Apex Court order': Delhi authorities blamed for dog-bite incidents at JLN Stadium

By A Representative   People for Animals (PFA), led by Ms. Ambika Shukla, has held the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) responsible for the recent dog-bite incidents at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, accusing it of violating Supreme Court directions regarding community dogs. The organisation’s on-ground fact-finding mission met stadium authorities and the two affected coaches to verify details surrounding the incidents, both of which occurred on October 3.

A revdi-funded dream? Tax breaks, hype, unease: PwC reveals GIFT City’s fragile foundations

By Rajiv Shah   Backed by generous subsidies (or so-called "revdis") channeled to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship project, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or GIFT City, a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report claims it is “uniquely positioned to connect India to international markets and foster next-generation FinTech and IT innovation.” 

Bihar’s land at ₹1 per acre for Adani sparks outrage, NAPM calls it crony capitalism

By A Representative   The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has strongly condemned the Bihar government’s decision to lease 1,050 acres of land in Pirpainti, Bhagalpur district, to Adani Power for a 2,400 MW coal-based thermal power project. 

‘I Love Muhammad’ and the new pretexts for communal violence in India

By Ram Puniyani   Communal violence is a curse in Indian politics. It has been around for over a century. Most scholars of this phenomenon believe that it is usually orchestrated deliberately. After such violence, conditions for communal polarization arise. Scholars also argue that “the religious polarization resulting from riots benefits political parties that engage in identity-based politics, while harming the Congress.” 

Adani Power controversy, legacy of pollution and broken dreams in Bihar

By Kumar Krishnan*  The decision to lease 1,050 acres of land in the Pirpainty region of Bhagalpur district to Adani Power for 33 years at a mere ₹1 per acre annual rent has become a major political issue in Bihar. Congress President Rajesh Ram, Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, Legislature Party Leader Dr. Shakeel Ahmad Khan, and Legislative Council Leader Dr. Madan Mohan Jha have already marched from Sadakat Ashram to Rajendra Babu's samadhi in Patna over this issue. Pawan Khera and Kanhaiya Kumar are vocally opposing it. Additionally, allied parties of the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) are also protesting. The Congress party even held a march in Patna on this matter.

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Destruction of nature leads to increase in natural disasters: A central tenet of Gandhi's philosophy

By Raj Kumar Sinha*  Limited consumption of nature was a central tenet of Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy. He believed that humans should take only what they need from nature, avoiding greed or over-consumption. Therefore, resources must be used sparingly, justly, and with the welfare of others in mind. Gandhi connected lifestyle to simplicity and self-restraint. He warned against unbridled industrialization and dependence on machines. He argued that the Western style of consumption-centric development was fatal for a country like India, as it harms both nature and society. Gandhi was a proponent of 'Swadeshi' (self-sufficiency/local goods) and 'Gram Swaraj' (village self-rule). This approach ensures that the sustainable use of local resources is safe for both the environment and society.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu.  He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat