We need to ask why India lags behind its neighbours in combating hunger, malnutrition | The Indian Express

We need to ask why India lags behind its neighbours in combating hunger, malnutrition | The Indian Express

Written by Harsh Mander |Updated: October 28, 2019 9:58:16 am

Mander is a human rights worker and writer

We need to ask why India lags behind its neighbours in combating hunger, malnutrition

Among all the countries included in the report, India has the highest rate of child wasting (which rose from the 2008-2012 level of 16.5 per cent to 20.8 per cent). Its child stunting rate (at 37.9 per cent) also remains shockingly high.

The 2019 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report brings sombre tidings this year: India’s poorer neighbours — Bangladesh, Nepal, and even Pakistan — have overtaken India in the battle against hunger.

The abiding disgrace of new India is that despite unprecedented quantities of wealth and the vulgar ostentation which has become customary in the gaudy glitter of city life, India is unable to overcome hunger and malnourishment. This is even more unconscionable when government warehouses are overflowing with stocks of rotting rice and wheat. The 2019 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report brings sombre tidings this year: India’s poorer neighbours — Bangladesh, Nepal, and even Pakistan — have overtaken India in the battle against hunger.