India Republic of Hunger Revisited

The results of the India State Hunger Index 2008 highlight the continued overall severity of the hunger situation in India, while revealing the variation in hunger across states within India. It is indeed alarming that not a single state in India is either low or moderate in terms of its index score; most states have a “serious” hunger problem, and one state, Madhya Pradesh, has an “extremely alarming” hunger problem.

Although variation exists in index scores of the states, and hence in the ranking of Indian states in relation to other countries, few states perform well in relation to the GHI 2008. Even the best-performing Indian state, Punjab, lies below 33 other developing countries ranked by GHI. Even more alarming is the fact that the worst-performing states in India-Bihar, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh-have index scores similar to countries that are precariously positioned on the GHI 2008 rankings. For instance, Bihar and Jharkhand rank lower than Zimbabwe and Haiti, whereas Madhya Pradesh falls between Ethiopia and Chad.

Our analysis of the associations between the ISHI 2008 and state economic indicators shows that the relationship between poverty and hunger is largely as expected-greater ISHI 2008 scores are seen in poorer states, with a few exceptions. Outliers like Kerala, Orissa, and Punjab perform better on the ISHI 2008 than might be expected given their poverty levels, whereas Gujarat, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh perform worse. A closer examination of these states’ past and current investments in social protection, health, and nutrition programs can help inform the debate about policy instruments to protect populations against hunger even in the face of poverty.

The lack of a clear relationship between state-level economic growth and hunger, taken along with the relationship between the ISHI 2008 and poverty and incomes, has a number of implications. First, economic growth is not necessarily associated with poverty reduction. Additionally, even if equitable economic growth improves food availability and access, it might not lead immediately to improvements in child nutrition and mortality, for which more direct investments are required to enable rapid reductions. Thus, in addition to wide-scale poverty alleviation, direct investments in improving food availability and access for poor households, as well as direct targeted nutrition and health interventions to improve nutrition and mortality outcomes for young children, will be needed to raise the ISHI scores and rankings of Indian states.

Child underweight contributes more than either of the other two underlying variables to the GHI score for India and to the ISHI scores for almost all states in India. Tackling child undernutrition, therefore, is crucially important for all states in India. Achieving rapid reductions in child underweight, however, will require scaling up delivery of evidence-based nutrition and health interventions to all women of reproductive age, pregnant and lactating women, and children under the age of two years.

Some economically strong states had rankings on the Nutrition Index that deteriorated when compared with the ISHI 2008, suggesting that it might be important for these states to invest in direct nutrition and poverty alleviation interventions even during sustained economic growth. The design and implementation of policies and programs to improve all three underlying dimensions of the ISHI will need to be strengthened and supported to ensure that hunger is reduced rapidly over time. Although strides are being made on the public health front to ensure sustained reductions in child mortality, improvements in child nutrition are not satisfactory in India. Nutrition programs in India are not effectively delivering evidence-based interventions at scale to vulnerable age groups that need to be reached to ensure rapid reductions in undernutrition.

In conclusion, for Indian states to progress along the ISHI, and to ensure that ISHI scores for Indian states are more closely aligned with GHI scores of countries with comparable economic growth, investments will be needed to strengthen agriculture, improve overall food availability and access to all population segments, and to improve child nutrition and mortality outcomes.

Author:
Menon, Purnima
Deolalikar, Anil
Bhaskar, Anjor
Published date:
2008
Publisher:
University of California, Riverside

Twelve Indian states have “alarming” levels of hunger while the situation is “extremely alarming” in the state of Madhya Pradesh, says a new report.
Madhya Pradesh’s nutrition problems, it says, are comparable to the African countries of Ethiopia and Chad.
India has more people suffering hunger – a figure above 200 million – than any other country in the world, it says.
The report, released as part of the 2008 Global Hunger Index, ranks India at 66 out 88 countries.
‘Scored worse’
The hunger index has been released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) along with Welthungerhlife and the University of California.
It measures hunger on three indicators which include child malnutrition, rates of child mortality and the number of people who are calorie deficient.

he problem of hunger is measured in five categories – low, moderate, serious, alarming or extremely alarming.
The survey says that not one of the 17 states in India that were studied were in the low or moderate hunger category.
“Despite years of robust economic growth, India scored worse than nearly 25 sub-Saharan African countries and all of South Asia, except Bangladesh,” the report says.
The best performing state was Punjab, which has a ’serious’ hunger problem and does less well than developing countries such as Gabon, Vietnam and Honduras.

About 60% children in Madhya Pradesh state are malnourished
“When Indian states are compared to countries in the Global Hunger Index, [the central Indian state of] Madhya Pradesh ranks between Ethiopia and Chad,” it says.
India is long known to have some of the highest rates of child malnutrition and mortality in under-fives in the world.
According to the Indian government statistics two years ago, around 60% of more than 10 million children in the state were malnourished.
Nutrition experts say the abysmal record is due to an inadequate access to food, poor feeding practices and poor childcare practices in India.
And now the rise in the global food prices has reduced the food-buying capacity of many poor families, making their situation worse.
In the past year food prices have increased significantly, but people’s incomes haven’t kept pace, forcing many families further into hunger, experts say.
The report says “improving child nutrition is of utmost urgency in most Indian states”.
“All states also need to improve strategies to facilitate inclusive economic growth, ensure food sufficiency and reduce child mortality,” it adds.

India Faces Urgent Hunger Situation

New Delhi—According to the first-ever India State Hunger Index, Madhya Pradesh has the most severe level of hunger in the country, followed by Jharkhand and Bihar. Punjab and Kerala scored the best on the Index

Released today by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in conjunction with Welthungerhilfe (formerly known as German Agro-Action) and the University of California, Riverside, the India State Hunger Index analyzes hunger levels in 17 major states across India. State hunger index scores range from “serious” to “extremely alarming.”

The India State Hunger Index measures hunger on three leading indicators and combines them into one index. The three indicators are prevalence of child malnutrition, rates of child mortality, and the proportion of people who are calorie deficient. This approach is similar to the 2008 Global Hunger Index, which includes India, and is also being released today for World Food Day (October 16) by IFPRI in conjunction with Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide.

The India Hunger Index found that not a single state in India falls in the ‘low hunger’ or ‘moderate hunger’ categories. Twelve states fall in the ‘alarming’ category, and one state—Madhya Pradesh—falls in the ‘extremely alarming’ category. Four states—Punjab, Kerala, Haryana and Assam—fall in the ‘serious’ category.

“This new state-focused index is an important advocacy tool to build awareness of the disparities in hunger across India, which has more hungry people than any other country in the world,” said Bernhard Hoeper, regional director South Asia, Welthungerhilfe. “With this year’s Global Hunger Index, we can also see how India compares to the rest of the world in the fight against hunger.”

According to the 2008 Global Hunger Index, India ranks 66 out of 88 nations (developing countries and countries in transition). Despite years of robust economic growth, India scored worse than nearly 25 Sub-Saharan African countries and all of South Asia, except Bangladesh.

India’s slightly better performance relative to Bangladesh is entirely due to better access to food in India relative to Bangladesh, which in turn is a consequence of India’s higher agricultural productivity. On the other two components of the Global Hunger Index—child underweight and child mortality—India ranks below Bangladesh.

When Indian states are compared to countries in the 2008 Global Hunger Index, Madhya Pradesh ranks between Ethiopia and Chad. Punjab, the best-performing state, ranks below Gabon, Honduras, and Vietnam. India’s poor performance is driven by its high levels of child undernutrition and calorie insufficiency. Its rates of child malnutrition are higher than most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“The India State Hunger Index is particularly insightful because it measures hunger across the country by ranking states on three leading indicators and combining them into a composite index—somewhat akin to the Human Development Index,” said Anil B. Deolalikar, professor of economics and associate dean of social sciences at the University of California, Riverside, and co-author of the India State Hunger Index.

The India State Hunger Index also found that poorer Indian states have substantially higher levels of hunger than their more prosperous counterparts. However, the report identified that strong economic growth does not necessarily translate into lower hunger levels. Even states with high rates of economic growth in recent years, such as Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra, have high levels of hunger, while states with relatively slower economic growth, such as Punjab, achieved a lower hunger level.

“Hunger and malnutrition are often rooted in poverty,” said Ashok Gulati, IFPRI director in Asia. “Part of the solution rests with increasing investments in agriculture and poverty reduction programs.”

Child underweight accounts for the greatest contribution to the India State Hunger Index for almost all states, followed by calorie deficiency and child mortality. In a few states, such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu, calorie deficiency contributes almost as much as child underweight.

“India needs to use existing programs and systems to ensure that all women and children are reached with evidence-based interventions during the window of opportunity—the first two years of life for children and before, during, and immediately after pregnancy for women,” said Purnima Menon, IFPRI research fellow and lead author of the India State Hunger Index. “This would lead to much progress in reducing child undernutrition.”

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The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI is one of 15 centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, an alliance of 64 governments, private foundations, and international and regional organizations.

Welthungerhilfe is convinced that all people of this world shall lead an independent life in dignity and justice, free from hunger and poverty. Welthungerhilfe was founded in 1962 as the national committee of the “Freedom from Hunger Campaign” set up by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Today, it is one of Germany’s largest non-governmental organizations, which besides advocacy, provides help by means of rapid humanitarian aid in acute crisis regions and cooperates closely with local partners where hunger and poverty are chronic.
http://www.welthungerhilfe.de
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