Hunger index exaggerates measure of hunger: Health ministry trashes report

The Union Health Ministry has questioned the Global Hunger Index that puts India in 107th position out of 121 countries, arguing that indicators like undernourishment, stunting, wasting and child mortality need not necessarily measure hunger simply because such parameters are not the manifestations of hunger alone.

“Undernourishment, stunting, wasting and child mortality are not the consequences of hunger alone, as these manifestations are seen among the relatively rich as well,” health officials said, citing a National Sample Survey Organisation report that showed proportions of under-nourishment, stunting and wasting were 7.3 per cent, 25.7 per cent and 18.6 per cent respectively among the two most wealthy classes of Indians.

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"The GHI exaggerates the measure of hunger, lacks statistical vigour, has a problem of multiple counts, and gives higher representation to under-five children," they said trashing the report released earlier this week.

The responses come after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the GHI report with experts from Indian Council of Medical Research and other agencies.

The renouncement is the second government drubbing for the controversial report after the Union Woman and Child Development Ministry described it as an effort to “taint India’s image”.

“According to the ICMR the indicators of undernourishment, stunting, wasting and child mortality do not measure hunger per se as these are not the manifestations of hunger alone. Many parameters that are used to evolve an index that measures hunger are probably contextual,” they said.

The inclusion of stunting as an indicator in GHI has implicit assumption that those who are hungry are likely to be short-statured. This can be contested since a child’s height was dependent on both maternal and paternal stature.

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Since stunting and wasting had been declining rapidly in India even among the underprivileged, it would not be correct to relate stunting in under-five children with hunger alone, officials said.

According to the National Family Health Survey-5, the prevalence of stunting and under- weight has decreased since 2015-16. Stunting declined from 38 per cent in 2015-16 to 36 per cent in 2019-21. Over this same time period, the prevalence of wasting has declined from 21 per cent to 19 per cent.

Officials said the inclusion of child mortality as an indicator under the GHI has the underlying assumption that hunger was the major cause behind such mortality. This is, however, not supported by the data on the cause of death for children under five years and thus questionable.

Government sources said the Global Hunger Report – prepared by Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, two non-government organisations from Ireland and Germany respectively – suffers from serious methodological issues.

This is, however, not the first time India is opposing an international report. Earlier this year, the government rejected a World Health Organisation’s global study that showed India’s Covid-19 toll was ten times higher than the official count.