The Hunger Paradox
Context:
- A recent Lancet report about the prevalence of “Zero-Food” among newborns and early children in India raised attention to the problem of hunger and malnutrition among Indian children.
Common Terminologies:
- a youngster who hasn’t had any food in the previous 24 hours, not even mother’s milk, protein-rich foods, or cereal.
- Inadequate or excessive nutritional intake, an imbalanced intake of essential nutrients, or poor nutrient utilization are characteristics of malnutrition.
- Although it can last for a long time, wasting (low weight for height) frequently indicates recent and significant weight loss.
- Stunting (low height for age): Malnutrition that is persistent or recurrent causes this disorder.
- Underweight children (low weight for age) may be wasted, stunted, or both.
- Micronutrient deficiencies: A lack of certain vitamins and minerals that the body needs for many functions, including the synthesis of hormones, enzymes, and other substances essential for growth and development. A lack of iron results in anemia.
Hunger and malnutrition in India:
- Undernutrition, Hidden Hunger (Micronutrient Deficiency), and Overweight are the three forms of malnutrition that threaten the lives of children and young adults in India and increase their risk of developing non-communicable diseases associated with diet.
- A National Sample Survey survey indicates that 5% of Indians report not eating two square meals each day. The term “hungry” could be used to describe this group of people.
- According to the most recent report, NFHS-5 (2019–21), stunting has decreased from 38.4% to 35.5%, wasting has decreased from 21.0% to 19.3%, and the prevalence of underweight has decreased from 35.8% to 32.1%, while the percentage of overweight children has worsened from 2.1% to 3.4%.
- All Indian States, with the exception of Kerala (at 39.4%), fall into the “severe” category (>40%) for anaemia incidence in children under the age of five (from 58.6 to 67%), women (53.1 to 57%), and men (22.7 to 25%).
- According to the Global Hunger Index (GHI), India’s position has been worse on a global scale, falling to 107 out of 121 countries in 2022 from 101 out of 116.
Indian hunger-related problems and difficulties:
- Lack of Specific Nutrient Information: The markers such as stunting, wasting, etc. are merely proxies for overall deficiencies.
- The problem of malnutrition is multifactorial in nature, involving a variety of ministries.
- Challenge across generations: In order to counter the danger, attention must be given to the mother-child combination’s diet and genetic makeup.
- Food Security Paradox: As evidenced by the phenomenon of “zero food” discovered in a survey of 60 lakh children, high milk, protein, and cereal output may not assure nutritional security for the mother-child combination.
- Increasing Burden of Noncommunicable Diseases: Cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc., are an increasing problem, particularly among middle-class people of all ages.
How to Proceed:
- Data clarification: The 24-hour recall approach was adopted in NFHS surveys to collect information on the mother-child combine’s consuming habits.
- Cooperation: Multi-ministerial coordination and implementation methods for programs like Poshan 3.0, Swach Bharat Mission, PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, etc. must be developed using an integrated approach.
- Food diversification: The addition of protein supplements and micronutrients through the Public Distribution System (PDS), such as milk, lentils, and eggs.
- Utilization of Technology: Food fortification and the application of various culinary techniques to make meals served to kids during midday meals tasty and nutritious will improve their nutritional status.
- A holistic approach must be taken when dealing with the issue of accessibility and affordability with regard to food and nutritional security since, as Dr. Amartya Sen once stated, the underlying cause of hunger is the inability to purchase food.
Conclusion:
- It is commendable that the Eat Right Movement and the six-month breastfeeding mandate have been implemented, but more must be done to eradicate hunger in order to meet Sustainable Development Goal 2, which calls for the use of evidence-based policymaking, cooperative federalism, and strong political will.
The world hunger index:
- GHI scores are based on the values of four component indicators, which are used to thoroughly measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and national levels:
- Undernourishment
- infant stunting
- squandering children
- child death rates
- The GHI score is determined on a scale of zero to one hundred, with zero denoting no hunger and one hundred denoting extreme hunger.
- Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, two European NGOs, are responsible for creating the GHI.
- The 2022 GHI scores are derived using data from 2017 through 2021. The GHI is an annual report, and each set of GHI scores incorporates data from a 5-year period.
