Notwithstanding the pat on the back by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), India’s effort to eradicate hunger still faces many challenges. As per findings of the FAO report, hunger has declined in India from 21.4 per cent to 13.17 per cent in the last two decades. As the overall challenge of eradicating hunger in the world has not undergone any significant change over the years, many have termed India’s figures as impressive. To supplement the claim, it has been highlighted that with the success of hunger eradication, problems like food insecurity and low birth weight have also recorded an appreciable decrease. The practice of breastfeeding has also registered growth among Indian mothers. The FAO report found that breastfeeding among Indian infants has gone up by 17 per cent, which is being viewed as the beginning of an era of improved immunity among Indian children, which may potentially reduce the rate of child deaths in the country. Credit has been given to India on two more counts. Firstly, India’s success in containing hunger has been achieved at a time when many countries are yet to recover from the turmoil suffered due to the pandemic. Secondly, the impact of ongoing global conflicts and climate change has made the task of hunger eradication more challenging. India’s successful reduction in hunger is also in part a result of various initiatives like free rations and other welfare programmes undertaken by the government. India can strengthen its fight against hunger with a more systematic and effective distribution network for these schemes.
Meanwhile, it has been found that the number of anaemia cases in India is the highest among South Asian nations. Simultaneously, Indians also rank among the highest in terms of food wastage. The former shows that many Indians still suffer from lack of nutrition, while the latter points to the country’s lack of awareness about wastage of food, which is alarming for a nation like India where 56 per cent of its population still cannot afford healthy diets due to rising costs, both of which result in a high malnutrition rate. The FAO report suggests that despite providing a significant populace with rations, the country has not been able to ensure access to healthy and nutritious food. Thus, India should not limit its efforts to providing sufficient food to its people but should also ensure that the food provided has the necessary nutritional value, which will pave the way for a healthier India. Similarly, India’s preference for junk food needs drastic curtailment to tackle the problem of obesity, as the percentage of overweight children has risen from 2.2 per cent to 2.8 per cent, which may likely trigger a bigger crisis in the near future. Unless these crucial issues are resolved, India’s endeavour to eradicate hunger will remain unfulfilled.
