Global Hunger Index: Community level interventions necessary to end hunger in India

With a score of 30.3 in the Global Hunger Index 2019, India’s hunger level falls in the ‘serious’ category.

The Global Hunger Index 2019 has ranked India 102 among the 117 countries in which hunger levels were studied. With a score of 30.3, the index states that the hunger level in the country is “serious”.

In India, to combat the malnutrition levels both immediate and long term interventions are needed. (HT File)

The score has reduced from 2005, when India was in the “alarming hunger” level category.

Although the proportion of people that are undernourished, prevalence of stunting (or being short for the age) in children, and under-five mortality have gone down, the wasting (or weighing less for age) has shown an increase, the GHI report shows.

“Yes, there has been an increase in wasting. All the studies -- the state level burden of disease, the National Family Health Survey 4 -- show this. A temporary increase or stagnation in wasting when stunting is declining has been reported previously. Stunting is an indicator of chronic malnutrition, whereas wasting is that of acute malnutrition. But we need to be able to pick up children even before they get wasted,” said Dr Suparna Ghosh-Jerath, additional professor and head community nutrition, Public Health Foundation of India.

Of the 117countries where hunger was measured by the GHI, 43 had serious levels of hunger, four countries (Chad, Madagascar, Yemen and Zambia) had alarming level of hunger and Central African Republic had extremely alarming levels of hunger.

In India, to combat the malnutrition levels both immediate and long term interventions are needed.

“Around 85 to 90% of wasting can be managed at the community level. Now, the nutritional rehabilitation centre are coming up across the country. It can help in taking care of the institutional needs of the children who are already malnourished. But to prevent it from happening, mothers need to be educated about child feeding and care practices by proactive front-line workers (ASHAs, ANMs and anganwadi workers), access to clean drinking water and sanitation, immunization and deworming of children has to be ensured, and livelihood security is needed,” said Ghosh-Jerath.

However, for immediate intervention nutritional formulation needs to be made available at community level.

“The government can utilise the existing network of public distribution system to distribute nutrient rich traditional cereals, have the self help groups engaged in preparation and distribution of locally packaged, adequately portioned, nutritional formulations using locally available biodiverse indigenous foods to be fed to the moderately malnourished and severely malnourished children without medical complications. Having a clear cut, state specific, contextual community based solution to address acute and chronic malnutrition is the need of the hour,” she said