Global hunger index

Outlook carries an article about a Global Hunger Index developed by the International Food Policy Research institute. Some of the key findings from the index are here.

• India ranks 23rd (1 being most afflicted by hunger).
  
• Malnutrition in India is worse than that in Sub-Saharan Africa but child mortality rates are less.
  
• The custom in many households for women to eat what's left after men have had a go is an important cause for child undernourishment.
  
• Good news is that India's Global Hunger Index has fallen dramatically from 41.23 in 1981 to 25.73 in 2003.
  
• Bad news is that the index was 25.73 in 1997. So in this one aspect nothing has improved during 6 years of torrid economic growth.
  

There is also a short and interesting comparison between the poverty alleviation efforts of India and China over the past 30 years.