Global Hunger Index (GHI) 19th  report for 2024 was released. ‘Concern Worldwide’ and ‘Welthungerhilfe’ jointly publish it.  Global Hunger Index report tracks hunger worldwide, focusing on areas where urgent action is required.

• India rank is 105^th(score of 27.3) out of 127 countries. It fell under the ‘serious’ category
• The ranking place it among nations with ‘serious’ hunger problems.
• India lags behind its neighbours Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, and Bangladesh

The GHI series India’s report in 2024 reflects a serious level of hunger. The report notes a slight increase in the prevalence of undernourishment in India in recent years.

Undernourishment ( reflects inadequate food availability): share of the population undernourished (whose caloric intake is insufficient);

* Wasting (which reflects acute undernutrition): calculated by the share of children under the age of five who are (that is, those who have low weight for their height);

* Stunting ( reflects chronic undernutrition): the share of children under the age of five stunted (that is, those who have low height for their age);

* Mortality (which reflects both inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environment): One can get the number by the mortality rate of children under the age of five (in part, a reflection of the fatal mix of inadequate nutrition.

   LEARNING FROM HOME/WITHOUT CLASSES/BASICS 

For several decades India was dealing with only one form of malnutrition– undernutrition. In the last decade, now faces the double burden which includes both over- and undernutrition,

      What is malnutrition?

Malnutrition is the condition that develops when the body does not get the right amount of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients it needs to maintain healthy tissues and organ function. The term malnutrition covers 2 broad groups of conditions.

underweight (low weight for age) and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies (a lack of important vitamins and minerals).

The other is overweight, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer).

Two types of PEM are— Kwashiorkor and Marasmus.

Maternal death is when a woman dies during her pregnancy or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy

Infant mortality (IMR) : The death of a baby before his or her first birthday . The infant mortality rate is the number of infant deaths that occur for every 1,000 live births.

NNR: A neonatal death defined as a death during the first 28 days of life (0-27 days) per 1000 live births