number of malnourished According to a United Nations report, people in India have declined over the last 15 years to 224.3 million in 2019-2021, which also states that the world’s second most populous country has more obese adults and anemic women.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022 Report released on Wednesday by United Nations agencies Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UNICEF, World Food Program (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO) said that the number of people affected by hunger globally increased to 828 million in 2021, an increase of about 46 million from 2020 and 150 million since the outbreak of the pandemic. COVID-19 Epidemic.
The report states that the number of malnourished people in India declined to 224.3 million in 2019–21 from 247.8 million in 2004–06.
It said that the number of children under 5 years of age decreased to 36.1 million in 2020 from 52.3 million in 2012, the number of children under five years of age who were overweight decreased from 3 million in 2012 to 2.2 million in 2020. Million gone. ,
However, the number of obese adults In India, which has a population of over 1.38 billion, increased to 34.3 million in 2016 from 25.2 million in 2012 and the number of women aged 15 to 49 years affected by anemia also increased from 171.5 million in 2012 to 187.3 million in 2019. happened.
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The report said that the number of babies exclusively breastfed for 5 months reached 14 million in 2020, up from 11.2 million in 2012.
In percentage terms, the prevalence of undernutrition in the total population in India was 21.6 per cent in 2004-06 and decreased to 16.3 per cent in 2019-21, with the prevalence of stunting in children below 5 years of age declining to 30.9 per cent. The prevalence of overweight children under five years of age increased from 41.7 per cent in 2020 to 1.9 per cent in 2020 from 2.4 per cent in 2012.
The prevalence of obesity in India’s adult population increased from 3.1 percent in 2012 to 3.9 percent in 2016 and anemia among women aged 15 to 49 years declined marginally from 53.2 percent in 2012 to 53 percent in 2019.
The report also said that in India, people who were unable to afford a healthy diet reached 973.3 million or about 70.5 percent in 2020, up from 948.6 million (69.4 percent) in 2019.
In 2017, nearly a billion people were unable to afford a healthy diet in india And in 2018 that number has come down to 966.6 million.
Subsidies to consumers in low-income countries and middle-income countries often take the form of in-kind or cash transfers under social security programs, the report said.
India and Indonesia, for example, provide substantial subsidies to end consumers under the Targeted Public Distribution System for cereals in India and the Food Assistance Program (BPNT) based on electronic vouchers of rice in Indonesia.
Among anemic women aged 15 to 49, there was a slight decline from 53.2 percent in 2012 to 53 percent in 2019 (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock)
“The most prominent example of (low-middle-income countries) LMICs is India, where food and agriculture policy has historically imposed export restrictions (wheat, non-basmati rice, and milk, among others) and pricing and public procurement. , through marketing regulations around public food stores and distribution of a wide range of agricultural commodities,” it said.
“As such, farmers have been constantly faced with an overall (negative NRP) price incentive. Input subsidies and spending on common services such as R&D and infrastructure have been widely used as a means to compensate for price discouragement arising from trade and market measures, and to promote production and self-sufficiency in the country. ,” it added.
After remaining relatively unchanged since 2015, the proportion of people affected by hunger jumped in 2020 to 9.8 percent of the world’s population in 2021, the report said.
This is compared to 8 per cent in 2019 and 9.3 per cent in 2020.
World hunger surges in 2021, with nearly 2.3 billion people facing moderate or severe difficulty getting enough to eat – and that was the first Ukraine War, which has increased the cost of grain, fertilizer and energy, according to the report.
The “State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” paints a grim picture based on the 2021 data, adding that the figures “should dispel any doubt that the world is committed to ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all countries”. It is moving backwards in its efforts. Its form”, it explained.
It warned that the ongoing war in Ukraine is “disrupting supply chains and further affecting prices of grain, fertilizer and energy” resulting in higher price increases in the first half of 2022.
At the same time, he said, more frequent and extreme climate events are also disrupting supply chains, especially in low-income countries.
Ukraine and Russia together produce about a third of the world’s wheat and barley and half of sunflower oil, while Russia and its allies Belarus are the world’s No. 2 and 3 producers of potash, a major component of fertilizer.
About 924 million people (11.7 percent of the global population) faced severe levels of food insecurity, an increase of 207 million in two years.
The gender gap in food insecurity continued to widen in 2021 – 31.9 percent of women in the world were moderately or severely food insecure compared to 27.6 percent of men – a difference of more than 4 percentage points compared to 3 percentage points. 2020.
About 3.1 billion people could not afford it Healthy Diet In 2020, up 112 million from 2019, reflects the effects of inflation In consumer food prices stemming from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to contain it.
An estimated 45 million children under the age of five suffered from wasting, the deadliest form of malnutrition, which increases the risk of child mortality by up to 12 times.
In addition, 149 million children under the age of five had stunted growth and development due to chronic deficiencies of essential nutrients in their diets, while 39 million were overweight.
“This report repeatedly highlights the intensity of these key drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition: conflict, climate extremes and economic shocks, along with increasing inequalities,” said the head of the five United Nations Agencies Written in this year’s foreword.
“The issue is not whether adversities will continue, but how we should take bold action to build resilience against future shocks,” it added.
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