India ranked 105th out of 127 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2024. The 19th GHI report, jointly published by 'Concern Worldwide' and 'Welthungerhilfe,' highlights India's position among nations with 'serious' hunger issues. Despite some progress, India lags behind its neighbors such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, and Bangladesh, ranking slightly above Pakistan and Afghanistan.
India's score of 27.3 in the 2024 GHI report reflects a serious level of hunger. The report notes a slight increase in the prevalence of undernourishment in India in recent years. While the 2024 score indicates an improvement from its 2016 score of 29.3, which also fell under the 'serious' category, it is still behind its neighboring countries. However, the country has made significant progress since 2000 and 2008 when it recorded scores of 38.4 and 35.2, respectively, categorized as 'alarming.'
The 2024 report is not directly comparable to the 2023 report due to changes in methodology and revised data, but it provides comparative data for the years 2000, 2008, 2016, and 2024.
India continues to face severe challenges in child malnutrition, with the highest global child wasting rate at 18.7%. Additionally, the country has a child stunting rate of 35.5%, an under-five mortality rate of 2.9%, and a prevalence of undernourishment at 13.7%.
Despite a notable reduction in the child mortality rate since 2000, child undernutrition remains a critical issue, with both wasting and stunting rates still alarmingly high. The report emphasizes that although stunting has decreased since 2000, these indicators continue to pose serious public health challenges.
The 2024 GHI report underlines that global progress in reducing hunger has stagnated since 2016, making the goal of achieving Zero Hunger by 2030 increasingly unlikely. Of the 127 countries assessed, 42 still face either 'alarming' or 'serious' hunger levels.
The report also draws a connection between hunger, climate change, and gender inequality, highlighting that "discriminatory norms and gender-based violence often place women and sexual and gender minorities at heightened risk of food and nutrition insecurity and climate change impacts while hampering their ability to cope with these challenges.