The Global Hunger Report (GHR) released earlier this month reaffirmed the prevalence of hunger and malnutrition in the country. India has been ranked at the bottom on the basis of Global Hunger Index (GHI). it is not surprising. The GHR is not the first report to flag this problem. But what has surprised many is the government’s response, which ranged from outright denial of any urgency to tackle malnutrition, to condemning the report for its functioning.
Like any international comparison, the GHI method can be debated, and it is certainly not the most authentic measure of the level or trend of malnutrition. Most of these international rankings are based on estimates for each country and suffer from limitations of definition, concept and comparability in different countries and over time. At the same time, criticisms made by the government through public retorts are not only wrong, but also reflect a tendency to spoof and misinterpret any uncomfortable figures. Its allegation that the GHI is based on a Gallup survey is untrue and anyone who has read the report in detail can attest to it.
The GHI uses four indicators: the proportion of the malnourished population, the child mortality rate, and the percentage of children stunted and wasted. Information on most of these indicators is not available on an annual basis. Thus they are estimated through econometric techniques using proxy indicators. For example, the proportion of people who are malnourished is dependent on the availability and consumption of food, income level and population structure. This is the indicator that has seen a recent decline. The country’s last consumption survey was conducted in 2017-18, but the government rejected its findings on spurious grounds. Earlier it was for 2011-12.
Despite methodological differences, any extrapolation using income and other estimates may indicate a worsening of the condition of our malnourished population. It is an officially acknowledged fact that the past five years have seen a sharp economic slowdown, with production contracting last year. Even our figures on the real wages of casual workers point to a clear decline in the incomes of the poorest. A recently released farmer survey also confirms the declining trend in income from crop cultivation. There is evidence of a sharp decline in the real income of most Indians living at the bottom of the pyramid, especially among those engaged in casual work, informal sector jobs and agriculture. Not surprisingly, our undernourished population as determined by the use of proxy data for income projections is no different from actual estimates in the Junk Consumption Survey, which showed a decline in real food expenditure for 2011-12 to 2017-18 Is. These are all official estimates. Any other reliable method of estimating food consumption and undernutrition would also confirm the state of undernutrition over the past half-decade.
As far as the indicators of malnutrition among children are concerned, we have partial data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) for 2019-20. Compared to NFHS-4 for 2015-16, NFHS-5 data available for 22 states and union territories (UTs) for 2019-20 shows an increase in stunting in 13 out of 22 and wasting in 12 Is. Shown in at least 20 states and union territories. One or more cases of child malnutrition worsening between 2015-16 and 2019-20. The 22 states do not include some of our poorest states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, which have high rates of malnutrition. The GHR only confirmed these trends.
India is facing the challenge of malnutrition, which is not only huge but also formidable. Even if one ignores the GHR and relies solely on the data backed and released by the Government of India, the conclusion will be the same. Therefore, attempting to raise unreasonable questions on the functioning of the GHI not only comes across as juvenile, but it also distracts us from the real issue. This response is no different from its earlier efforts to release employment surveys and prevent rejection of consumption surveys. But that won’t change the ground reality, which the government’s own surveys point to serious job losses, declining incomes and difficulties in accessing essential social security services after the pandemic. It is time for the government to face these uncomfortable truths and instead of trying to discredit the statistical data, put forth the necessary tools and mechanisms to rectify the situation.
Himanshu is Associate Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Visiting Fellow at Center de Sciences Humanes, New Delhi
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