Global Hunger Index: Bangladesh improves score to enter moderate hunger zone

• Integrity Education, Delhi
• 16, Oct 2021

Bangladesh improved its hunger score from 20.4 last year to 19.1 in 2021 on the Global Hunger Index (GHI). The GHI classifies countries of the world into low, moderate, serious, alarming and extremely alarming categories. It ranks countries on a scale of 100 based on parameters of undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting and child mortality. A lower score indicates improvement.

However, Bangladesh slipped one point in the overall ranking in the world to 76th position from 75th among 116 countries compared to last year. Bangladesh is the third country in South Asia after Sri Lanka and Nepal to be in the moderate level. According to the report Bangladesh has made the greatest improvement in its score among countries in the moderate category.

According to the GHI, between 2012 to 2021, the rate of child stunting in Bangladesh fell from 40.8 percent to 28 percent and the number of undernourished population declined from 15.5 percent to 9.7 percent. During the same period, the under-five mortality rate came down from 4.4 percent to 3.1 percent and the prevalence of wasting of children declined from 14.8 percent to 9.8 percent.

The report says that 47 countries of the world have extremely alarming, alarming or serious levels of hunger. Further, 47 countries will fail to reach zero hunger level by 2030. Painting a dire picture, the report says the toxic cocktail of climate crisis, COVID 19 pandemic and increasingly severe and protracted violent conflicts may lead to stagnation or reversal in achieving zero hunger by 2030.

The index is based on four parameters of undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality. The data for the index is collected from the various UN and other multilateral agencies. The GHI is compiled annually by Concern Worldwide and its partner Welthungerhilfe.

Sources : News On Air