Kathmandu, Oct. 15
Nepal’s progress in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) has
remained the same in 2022 with a score of 19.1 but its global ranking has slid
by five positions.
In the 2022 Global Hunger Index, Nepal ranks 81st
out of the 121 countries. With a score of 19.1, Nepal has a level of hunger
that is moderate, the GHI 2022 report concluded.
However, Nepal’s global ranking has gone down since
2019. That year Nepal was ranked at 73rd position which remained the
same in 2020 but in 2021 it slid three positions down to 76, and this year it
has come to 81st position globally.
But, it has improved its status from ‘Serious Hunger’
in 2019 to ‘Moderate Hunger’ since 2020. Nepal has fared well compared to its
regional neighbours.
In
South Asia, Sri Lanka has topped the regional list with a score of 13.6,
followed by Nepal 19.1, and Bangladesh 19.6. Likewise, Pakistan, India and
Afghanistan have 26.1, 29.1 and 29.9 respectively which ranks them at ‘Serious
Hunger’ category.
A
global study to create the GHI is taken jointly by the Welthungerhilfe and
Concern Worldwide. According to the study, score from 0 to 9.9 is considered as
low hunger, 10 to 19.9 moderate, 20 to 34.9 serious, 35 to 49.9 alarming and
above 50 extremely alarming.
The
GHI is calculated on the basis of undernourishment (share of the population
with insufficient caloric intake), child wasting (share of children under age
five who have low weight for their height, reflect acute undernutrition), child
stunting (share of children under age five who have low height for their age,
reflecting chronic undernutrition), and child mortality (share of children who
die before their fifth birthday).
Nepal’s
undernourished population has come down to 5.5 per cent in 2021 from 23.5 per
cent in 2002. Likewise, child wasting has slightly gone up from 11.3 per cent
in 2002 to 12 per cent in 2021. There has been a significant progress in terms
of child stunting and child mortality. Stunting has decreased to 31.5 per cent
from 56.1 per cent and mortality has come down to 2.8 per cent from 7.9 per
cent, according to the report that used the data from the National Planning
Commission in Nepal.
Belarus,
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Chile, China, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Kuwait,
Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia,
Turkey and Uruguay top the list with less than 5 score in the GHI 2022. On the
other side, Yeman, Central African Republic, Madagascar, Congo and Chad are
ranked at the bottom of the global rankings.
According to the publishers, the GHI
is designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global,
regional, and country levels. GHI scores are calculated each year to assess
progress and setbacks in combating hunger.
The report has recommended to put
inclusive governance and accountability at the centre of efforts to transform
food systems and said that the governments must respect, protect, and fulfill
the right to food, which should be enshrined in national law and supported by
mechanism for redressing grievances.
It also suggested that the
stakeholders at all governance levels must harness local voices and capacities
while ensuring citizens’ participation, action, ad oversight. Similarly, a
suggestion is made to scale up resources for humanitarian needs while
transforming food systems to make them resilient to shocks.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 16 October 2022.
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