Why we should disregard the Global Hunger Index

How seriously should one take the Global Hunger Index?

(Sanghnomics is a weekly column that tracks down and demystifies the economic world view of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and organisations inspired by its ideology.)

Every year, the Global Hunger Index releases an annual report ranking countries based on the level of hunger prevalent in each. In the 2024 Global Hunger Index, India ranks 105th out of 127 countries. According to this year’s report, with a score of 27.3, India has a level of hunger that is categorized as “serious.” However, this raises the question of how seriously one should take the GHI and many other such flawed indices, which are perceived as biased, creations of the Western world, and are consistently used to portray emerging economies like India in a poor light.

Flaws in GHI

In November 2021, a New Delhi-based think tank, the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), held consultations with experts on the Global Hunger Index (GHI). Based on these consultations, it released a ‘Policy Brief ‘Policy Brief’ on the GHI in October 2022.

Questioning the basic parameters of the GHI, the brief raises some pertinent points. It states: “The Global Hunger Index has used four indicators to construct the index and rank countries. The indicators used are (i) the percentage of the undernourished population, reflecting insufficient nutrition; (ii) the share of children under five years old who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernourishment (wasting); (iii) the share of children under five years old who have low height for their age (stunting), reflecting chronic undernourishment; and (iv) the mortality rate of children under five years old, partly reflecting the fatal mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments.”

The experts in the NAAS consultation had emphasized that while hunger leads to undernutrition, it alone is not the only reason for undernutrition or mortality. The available evidence clearly shows that stunting as well as child mortality are not only due to hunger but are due to several other factors. Other studies show that the use of under-five wasting and stunting prevalence as indicators of hunger are not supported by the biomarkers associated with the nutrition profile of individuals. Similarly, studies suggest that 70% of the deaths of children worldwide and in India are due to diarrhoeal illness, acute respiratory infections, malaria and immunizable diseases, and not only due to undernourishment.

The experts rejected the indicators used for calculating Hunger Index Scores which neither represent hunger nor represents the situation of the entire population of a country. Moreover, the three indicators, namely wasting, stunting and mortality of children below five years, are interrelated and may have high correlation. It is argued that these three indicators refer only to children below five years, who constitute only one-sixth of India’s population.

Hence, it is clear that the GHI does not adequately represent the entire population of the country or the issue of hunger. The four indicators used to compute the GHI do not accurately reflect hunger, leading to misleading interpretations.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has also rejected the GHI as an appropriate measure of hunger. It has categorically stated, “The Indian Council of Medical Research holds the view that the indicators of undernourishment, stunting, wasting, and child mortality do not measure hunger per se. Referring to this index as a Hunger Index, and thereby ranking countries, is not appropriate, as many of the measures used to develop an index that measures hunger are likely contextual. Countries should, therefore, develop their own measures that are suitable for their specific context.”

ICMR had set up a panel of experts and asked it to submit a report on this issue before it took a stand on this. The report prepared by some of the top experts in India said in its conclusion, “Based on the available evidence.. the indicators of undernourishment, stunting, wasting and CM (Child mortality) do not measure hunger, and thus, referring to GHI as Hunger Index is a misnomer. While the Index intends to assess the status for the entire population, it actually gives excessive weightage to under-5 children. The calculation of GHI as an index in terms of percentage is often interpreted as the percentage of hunger by the general population.”

The government of India had also responded to the GHI’s annual report last year when India was ranked 111 among 125 countries. In an official statement, the union ministry of women and child development had said, “Three out of the four indicators used for calculation of the index are related to the health of children and cannot be representative of the entire population. The fourth and most important indicator ‘Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population’ is based on an opinion poll conducted on a very small sample size of 3000!”

There are multiple surveys which are conducted regularly by the state and the central governments in India to collect relevant data on various development issues. India doesn’t need a flawed index to gauge where are we standing on the issue of hunger.

Earlier Sanghnomics columns can be read here.