India slips to 101st rank in Global Hunger Index 2021; behind Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal
New Delhi, Oct 14: India has slipped to 101st position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 of 116 countries, from its 2020 position of 94th and is behind its neighbours Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Eighteen countries, including China, Brazil and Kuwait, shared the top rank with GHI score of less than five, the website of the Global Hunger Index that tracks hunger and malnutrition said on Thursday.
The report, prepared jointly by Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and German organisation Welt Hunger Hilfe, termed the level of hunger in India "alarming".
In 2020, India was ranked 94th out of 107 countries. Now with 116 countries in the fray, it has dropped to 101st rank.
India's GHI score has also decelerated -- from 38.8 in 2000 to the range of 28.8 - 27.5 between 2012 and 2021.
The GHI score is calculated on four indicators --undernourishment; child wasting (the share of children under the age of five who are wasted i.e who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition); child stunting (children under the age of five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition) and child mortality (the mortality rate of children under the age of five).
The share of wasting among children in India rose from 17.1 per cent between 1998-2002 to 17.3 per cent between 2016-2020, according to the report.
"People have been severely hit by COVID-19 and by pandemic related restrictions in India, the country with highest child wasting rate worldwide," the report said.
Neighbouring countries like Nepal (76), Bangladesh (76), Myanmar (71) and Pakistan (92) are also in the 'alarming' hunger category, but have fared better at feeding its citizens than India, according to the report.
However, India has shown improvement in other indicators such as the under-5 mortality rate, prevalence of stunting among children and prevalence of undernourishment owing to inadequate food, the report said.
According to the report, the fight against hunger is dangerously off track. Based on the current GHI projections, the world as a whole -- and 47 countries in particular -- will fail to achieve a low level of hunger by 2030.
Food security is under assault on multiple fronts, it said, adding that worsening conflict, weather extremes associated with global climate change, and the economic and health challenges associated with the COVID19 pandemic are all driving hunger.
"Inequality -- between regions, countries, districts, and communities -- is pervasive and, (if) left unchecked, will keep the world from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) mandate to leave no one behind," the report said.
Further, the report noted that it is difficult to be optimistic in 2021 because the forces now driving hunger are overpowering good intentions and lofty goals.
Among the most powerful and toxic of these forces are conflict, climate change, and COVID-19 three Cs that threaten to wipe out any progress that has been made against hunger in recent years, it added.
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4 children test HIV positive in MP govt hospital; contaminated blood transfusion suspected
Satna/Bhopal (PTI): Four children suffering from thalassemia have tested HIV positive at Satna District Hospital in Madhya Pradesh allegedly due to contaminated blood transfusions, officials said on Tuesday.
The case is four months old and an investigation is underway into it, an official said.
Officials suspect the use of contaminated needles or blood transfusions for the spread of infection to the children.
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MP Health Minister Rajendra Shukla told reporters in Bhopal that he has ordered a probe into the matter and sought a report.
“It is also being investigated whether the blood transfusion took place in other hospitals also or only in the government hospital,” he said.
The affected children, aged between 12 and 15 years, received blood transfusions from the hospital's blood bank, as per an official.
Devendra Patel, in-charge of the blood bank at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel District Hospital in Satna, said four children have tested HIV positive and an investigation is underway to determine how they got infected.
"Either an infected needle was used or a blood transfusion occurred. These are the two main reasons I believe. Blood transfusion seems to be the most likely cause," he told PTI Videos.
All these children suffer from thalassemia, and some have received 80 or 100 blood transfusions, he said.
A family member of one of the affected children said that their child was found to be HIV positive during a routine checkup about four months back, and he has been receiving medication, but it had proven to be of no use.
After taking the medication for HIV, the child starts vomiting, feels low and becomes ill, he said.
After the four children were detected with HIV infection, their family members were also tested and the results came out negative, he added.
The Opposition Congress targeted the government over the matter and demanded the resignation of Health Minister Shukla.
Speaking to reporters in Bhopal, Congress MLA and former minister Sachin Yadav claimed such incidents were continuously occurring in Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier, a case of toxic cough syrup came to light in Chhindwara, followed by incidents of rat bites at hospitals in Indore and Satna, and now children have been given HIV-infected blood, he said.
"The health minister is unable to manage the department. He should resign. A murder case should be filed against those responsible for the Satna incident," Yadav said.
Senior Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma termed it a failure of the government. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's government has no connection with ground realities, he charged.
"Somewhere rats are roaming in hospitals, somewhere children are being given HIV-infected blood. Instead of preventing HIV, you are spreading it. Mohan Yadav should wake up from his slumber. Children are the nation's heritage and should be taken care of," he added.
