Alarming Levels of hunger In India-A Comparison

Despite years of robust economic growth, India scores lower than nearly 25 sub-Saharan countries in the Global Hunger Index

India, the world’s largest foodgrain producer, also has the world’s largest hungry population -- over 200 million. It ranks a poor 66th among 88 developing and transitional countries in the 2008 Global Hunger Index (GHI-2008), says a report released by the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), ahead of World Food Day (October 16).

Among the 17 major Indian states, Madhya Pradesh had the most severe hunger levels, followed by Jharkhand and Bihar. Even states that experienced good economic growth like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh had high levels of hunger.

Hunger levels ranged from ‘serious’ to ‘extremely alarming’, with 12 states in the ‘alarming’ category. Not one state witnessed ‘low hunger’ or ‘moderate hunger’. Even relatively prosperous Punjab, and other states like Kerala, Haryana and Assam now fall within the ‘serious’ bracket.

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

When compared to other countries on the index, Madhya Pradesh ranked 81st, level with Chad; Punjab was 33rd, below Gabon, Honduras and Vietnam. Maharashtra and Orissa ranked 66th, equivalent to India, while Gujarat ranked 69th, with Haiti. Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were 60th, with Guinea.

In South Asia, countries like Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan fared better than India in their drive against hunger. Even countries like Laos, Cambodia and Burkina Faso ranked higher than India. India’s slightly better performance over Bangladesh was because of higher agricultural productivity. But it fared worse than Bangladesh in the area of child mortality.

The Democratic Republic of Congo scored the worst on the index, followed by Eritrea, Burundi, Niger, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ethiopia. Among the better-fed countries, Mauritius ranked 1st, followed by Jamaica, Moldova, Cuba and Peru. China ranked 15th, Thailand 23rd, Sri Lanka 39th, Nepal 57th and Pakistan 61st.

Hunger Index (Statewise distribution) for India

YOUR VIEWS AND SUGGESTIONS

Friends,this is not the time to sit back.Not the time to enjoy the cozy warmth of your room and enjoy your good life.This is the time to fight it out.Our Brothers and sisters have suffered long enough,but no more.We will do whatever we can to give them their rightful place.We might have lost the battle,but certainly we will win this war.

So,express yourselves,share your experiences,suggest what can be done ,give solutions.In short COME,BE A PART OF THIS REVOLUTION.A FEW MINUTES OF OUR TIME CAN DO THIS NATION A WHOLE LOT OF GOOD.PLEASE,DON'T WASTE THOSE MINUTES.HELP YOUR FELLOW INDIANS,HELP YOUR NATION.

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Children of hungry India

India may well be `Shining' to the world at large but when it comes to its children's health the picture is far from glossy. The recently released National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), the third pan-India survey conducted since 1992 (covering 200,000 people from 15-54 years), highlights some sobering facts on this front.

• According to the survey, conducted between December 2005 and August 2006, a whopping 45.9 per cent of India's under-three kids are underweight,39 per cent are stunted, 20 per cent severely malnourished,80 per cent anemic while infant mortality hovers at 67 per 1,000.More than 6,000 Indian children below five years die everyday due to malnourishment or lack of basic micronutrients like Vitamin A, iron, iodine, zinc or folic acid. Overall, India hosts 57 million - or more than a third - of the world's 146 million undernourished children.

• Shockingly, even sub-Saharan Africa has a better record of child malnourishment at 30 per cent while China records eight per cent and Pakistan 37 per cent.

Shocking Statistics from the United Nations

Friends,just have a look as to what we are up against,as to how great the challenges are that we face,and to the level of determination and fight we must put up to make our world a better place

Every year 15 million children die of hunger

For the price of one missile, a school full of hungry children could eat lunch every day for 5 years

Throughout the 1990's more than 100 million children died from illness and starvation. Those 100 million deaths could be prevented for the price of ten Stealth bombers, or what the world spends on its military in two days!

The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed one-third is starving- Since you've entered this site at least 200 people have died of starvation. Over 4 million will die this year.

One in twelve people worldwide is malnourished, including 160 million children under the age of 5. United Nations Food and Agriculture

The Indian subcontinent has nearly half the world's hungry people. Africa and the rest of Asia together have approximately 40%, and the remaining hungry people are found in Latin America and other parts of the world. Hunger in Global Economy

Nearly one in four people, 1.3 billion - a majority of humanity - live on less than $1 per day, while the world's 358 billionaires have assets exceeding the combined annual incomes of countries with 45 percent of the world's people.

3 billion people in the world today struggle to survive on US$2/day.

Half of all children under five years of age in South Asia and one third of those in sub-Saharan Africa are malnourished.

Malnutrition is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide - a proportion unmatched by any infectious disease since the Black Death

About 183 million children weigh less than they should for their age

The assets of the world's three richest men are more than the combined GNP of all the least developed countries on the planet.

Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger

It is estimated that some 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition, about 100 times as many as those who actually die from it each year.

I am sure the sorry state of the earth and that of our motherland in particular do ring some bells in your mind.So no more waiting,come, lets fight this evil together!!! Together we can and WILL certainly make a difference.

Lost children of India

Look at them...
They are us,they are our fellow Indians,they are our brothers and sisters.
Hungry and exhausted,frail and diseased,tired and without any hope.

India looses one fifth of its children to malnutrition,a third of all the malnourished children of the world are born in India,these unfortunate kids spend their life doing odd jobs just for a handful of eatables.This has to change,and change this will.But for that we have to pick the cudgels.
It is us and only us who can make a change to their state.
A few minutes of time we devote can do a whole lot of good to these little brothers and sisters of ours.
So why not at least try to be the change,to at least be proud to have done something for our nation,to be able to give a small part of our time to bring happiness to these unfortunate kids.
Let us not shy away anymore from our responsibilities.Let us show to all who are in doubt that we can and will be that change.
Be a part of this revolution,come with us ,express your views,suggest solutions.Let us pledge that we will make our nation a better place than what it is today.