Hunger: Not just empty Stomach

India, with a population of over 1.3 billion, has seen tremendous growth in the past two decades. Gross Domestic Product has increased 4.5 times and per capita consumption has increased 3 times. Similarly, food grain production has increased almost 2 times. However, despite phenomenal industrial and economic growth and while India produces sufficient food to feed its population, it is unable to provide access to food to a large number of people, especially women and children.

The common notion we often hear ” Don’t waste Food as millions of people sleep empty stomach”. We often see people begging food by saying ” Hungry for days”. We come to notice only these visible hunger. There are millions of people whose hunger and food deprivation is invisible. 

“It takes two wings to fly, but a very hungry stomach even attempt to do so” Most of us have seen that cycle circus in our areas where an adult member moves around localities with children. In the process of that circus, these children perform some dangerous acts. They perform and we give them food, clothes, money, etc. Instead of going to school, they go everywhere to get ” food”. 

What is hunger in real terms? Is it just getting food to eat or the right food in the right quantity?

According to FAO estimates in ‘ ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2020 report, 189.2 million people are undernourished in India. By this measure, 14% of the population is undernourished in India. 

The  Global Hunger index 2020  released by Welthungerhilfe put India at 94 ranks in 107 countries. The ranking is worst in BRICS and neighbourhood countries. The report is based on four indicators

 Undernourishment-  It is the low-calorie intake by a person.  

Child Wasting– It is the low weight for their height. There are 33% of children wasted between the age of 0-4.

Child Stunting- It is the low height for their age. Approximately 35% of children under 5 are stunted.

Child Mortality– It is the death of children under the age of 5. 

Hunger is not merely missing a meal, it is a deep crisis that results from multidimensional deprivations and takes a toll on people’s livelihood, health, intellectual and other capabilities.

The problem gets its root from maternal health and female literacy. There are around 50% anaemic pregnant women between the age of 15 to 49. To feed the child in the womb, the mouth of the mother should get nutritious food. It creates a major problem of child mortality, maternal mortality, unhealthy birth of the child. The prevalence of early marriage and female literacy also contributes to the menace by early childbearing, proper space between births and awareness of food insecurity. Women’s education affects the nutrient outcomes for children.

Sanitation plays a major role, lack of clean drinking water and hygiene cause preventable disease. Child undernutrition is attributable to child illness ( diarrhoea, pneumonia and measles). Early childhood care is a very important phase of the child. Inadequate care in the first 1000 days of children where 80% growth of the brain takes place affects the future of growth of children. This happens due to lack of proper care, mother’s milk, nutrition to both child and mother.

The menace is also attributable to Agri loss due to climate change. Climate change is a threat to agri-biodiversity, pests attack leads to the problem of food spoilage and impact production.

In India the problem of food security, undernourishment did not get the public space. Hunger is equated only with food. Improvements have been made from the past due to the increase in production, targetted approach toward the elimination of hunger. National food security Act 2013 shifted from welfare to the right. The coverage of the Act is around 2/3 of the population. Around 75% of rural and 50% of urban population is provided with food grains. There is provision for pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children from 6 to 14 years. In 2018 Government under National Nutrient Mission ( Poshan Abhiyan) provides the programmatic guidance to high burden states and districts to facilitate multisectoral planning. catalyse resource mobilisation and develop a surveillance system for nutrition. The midday meal is a great success for the government to bring nutritious food to the plates of millions of school-going children. The number of children missing school due to lack of food security is very high. Midday meal works a twin solution in increasing enrolment ratio in school and also work towards undernourishment.

During pandemic when everyone is locked inside their home the problem of food security is very high. Many reports and survey highlighted the impact of lockdown on health and food availability. This would hamper the fight towards and hunger and malnutrition. The government under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna distributed free food grains to the eligible beneficiary.

Dealing with the elephant in the room is possible only when the elephant is identified properly. As Hunger is not just to food so our solution should not only target food and calorie. A convergence of policy to food security. All the policy nutrition, Health ( reproduction, women, child ) sanitation and education should work together and in a targetted manner to fight and eliminate hunger. Food fortification, food availability with the proper monitoring and periodic audit of the same. Sustainable agriculture to provide with not just food but the food which meet the requirement of future growth.

The world is fighting the twin problem of hunger and obesity at the same time. The growth of a comfortable lifestyle, eating habits, increase screen time creating problem of obesity. This points towards the greater problem where some getting fat due to overeating at the same time people were dying of undernutrition. 

It is the right time to utilise the benefit of the demographic dividend. Investment of today in proper eating habits, feeding the hungry, proper care of pregnant women, sanitation, child care, and preventing wastage of food give higher dividend in the coming days. Making hunger a mass moment and countering it from all possible way will help the country to save millions of lives.

Divyanshu Singh

(Views are personal)