Govt. questions Global Hunger Index method Â
Context: Union Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala questioned the methodology and data accuracy of the Global Hunger Index (GHI) report, which has placed India at 94th out of 107 countries in 2020.
Government Data:
- According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4, the percentage of wasted, stunted and malnourished children in 2015-16 stood at 21, 38.4 and 35.7, respectively.
- The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) of 2017-18 showed an improvement of 4%, 3.7% and 2.3% in wasted, stunted and malnourished children respectively.
- The first-ever CNNS was commissioned by the government in 2016 and was conducted from 2016-18, led by the Union Health Ministry, in collaboration with UNICEF.
- The findings were published in 2019. CNNS includes only nutrition data, whereas NFHS encompasses overall health indicators.
About GHI:
- GHI is a peer-reviewed annual report, jointly published by Concern Worldwide, an Ireland-based humanitarian group, and Welthungerhilfe, a Germany-based NGO, designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels.
- It says the aim of publishing the report is to trigger action to reduce hunger around the world.
- According to the GHI website, the data for the indicators come from the United Nations and other multilateral agencies, including the World Health Organisation and the World Bank.
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