Nutritious food is considered essential for a healthy life, but 300 million people, or 40 percent of the world’s population, do not have enough money to eat nutritious food. This is stated in a report released at the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021 held in Rome from 26 to 28 July. The report was jointly released by Food Price for Nutrition, Tufts University and the World Food Program. According to the report, the burden of diseases is increasing worldwide due to lack of healthy food. Many people are deprived of nutritious food due to unaffordable food. The market price of agricultural products alone is not responsible for this. There has also been a significant increase in food production costs.
The report estimates the price of a meal plate in 168 countries and found that the cheapest original dish costs 0.71 This dish does not include the cost of cooking. However, this plate does not meet the nutritional needs of the diet. If protein-rich red meat is included in this plate, its price will increase by 1.03 Similarly, the price of this plate will increase by 1.07 when chicken is included and by 1.30 if fish is included.
The report says the international poverty line standard is 1.90 per day but poor families cannot afford to spend that much on meals. In a quarter of countries where food is not very cheap, the price of a cheap plate is about 6 percent or more of the average daily income. Eating cooked food increases the price by 20 percent. If meat is included in the diet, the price increases by 10 percent. In such a situation, people do not have the ability to buy healthy food.
Hunger is a serious problem in the world
The biggest contributor to this is the Kovid-19 epidemic. A recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021” estimates that 81.1 million people will face starvation in 2020. In other words, every tenth person in the world is hungry. According to the FAO, these figures show that a massive effort will be needed to eradicate hunger from the world by 2030.
In this FAO report, hunger is assessed for the first time during an epidemic. The report was jointly released on July 12 by the FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Program and the World Health Organization.
“Last year’s report shows that the devastating effects of COVID-19 on the global economy are leading the world to an unprecedented recession for the first time since World War II. Millions of people, including children, are facing food insecurity and “Nutrition security is at stake. If we do not take drastic steps, the situation will get worse,” he said.
Hunger increased during the Covid-19 period
According to the report, 72 to 81.1 crore people went hungry in 2020, which is 16 crore more than in 2019. 2.37 billion people did not have enough food in 2020. No part of the world has escaped starvation. According to the report, 3 billion people worldwide are deprived of food due to inflation, poverty and unavailability of healthy food, economic inequality. The report says that the problem of malnutrition among five-year-olds in Africa and Asia has become very serious. According to the report, climate disasters and economic downturns have intensified over the past 10 years, with epidemics exacerbating their effects, resulting in increased hunger in low- and middle-income countries. The report also says that economic sanctions, such as the lockdown imposed in 2020, have led to faster global hunger than in previous decades.
The worst situation is in Asia
According to the report, more than half of the world’s hunger victims live in Asia. 41.8 crore people in Asia are suffering from hunger. In Africa, 28.2 million people live in such conditions. 21 percent of people in Africa are hungry. The number of hungry people in Africa has increased by 4.6 crore compared to 2019, while the number of such people in Asia has increased by 57 million. There are 1.4 million starving people in Latin America. The majority of malnourished children are in Africa and Asia.
India is ranked 101st in the recently released Global Hunger Index for 116 countries, which clearly shows how serious the hunger situation in the country is. The situation is that India’s neighbors Pakistan (92), Bangladesh (76) and Nepal (76) are also behind. Notably, India was ranked 94th in the Hunger Index for 2020. The index report was published on 14 October 2021 by Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilf.
If you look at this index report, the country’s situation has improved between 2021 in terms of child mortality compared to 2020.
The situation is the same with regard to the sex ratio of infants, weight and obesity of infants.
Only 15 countries in the index are worse off than India. These include Papua New Guinea (102), Afghanistan (103), Nigeria (103), Congo (105), Mozambique (106), Sierra Leone (106), Timor-Leste (108), Haiti (109), Liberia (110). ) Are included. Madagascar (111), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (112), Chad (113), Central African Republic (114), Yemen (115) and Somalia are ranked 116th.
The government has questioned the index, saying it was unscientific
However, the country’s Ministry of Women and Child Development has questioned the report, saying “it is shocking that the World Hunger Report 2021 has placed India below the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates of malnutrition.” Not to mention the fact that Worldwide and Wealth Hunger Hilfe didn’t do the right thing. “
According to the government, the method used by the FAO is unscientific. No scientific method has been used to measure malnutrition such as per capita food availability during this period. While weight and height measurements are required to measure malnutrition, the method included here is based entirely on telephone estimates of the population, according to a Gallup poll.
Moreover, the report completely ignores the government’s efforts to ensure food security for the entire population during the Covid period, on which data is available. Survey participants had no questions about whether they received food aid from the government or other sources. Representation in this poll is also questionable for India and other countries.
Earlier, a report released by Oxfam on the Hunger Virus Multiplex expressed concern about the global problem of hunger, with around 11 people dying of starvation every minute worldwide. About 15.5 crore people are facing severe food crisis. The report also lists India as a hungry hotspot. If you look at the 2020 figures, about 19 crore people in India are suffering from malnutrition. At the same time, about one-third of children under five do not develop properly.
Sadly, on the one hand, the government is not serious about this problem, but on the other hand, people are not changing their habits. It is estimated that every person in the country wastes about 50 kg of food every year, while ironically 18.9 crore people (14% of the population) still do not get adequate nutrition. According to the Food Waste Index Report 2021 released by the United Nations, about 6.88 crore tonnes of food is wasted in India every year.
Stopping food spoilage is not a difficult task, you just have to change your habits. Take as much food as you need on our plate. Buy only what is sufficient for you. Stop storing unnecessary food. Understand the importance of food. This is the most important thing for humans. When you
When wasting food on a plate, it should be remembered that this food makes one go to bed hungry.
(Economy India)
