Bangladesh ahead of India_ Pakistan in global hunger index

Bangladesh has ranked 75th out of 117 qualifying countries on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2019 with a score of 25.8_ which is higher than India and Pakistan. Pakistan ranked 88 with a score of 28.5 while India ranked 94 with a score of 30.3 in terms of severity of hunger. The country with the severest problem of hunger at rank 117 of the index is the Central African Republic. The 2020 Global Hunger Index_ jointly published by Concern Worldwide and its partner Welthungerhilfe_ was launched through an online event on Friday. Last year_ Bangladesh was ranked 88th out of 117 countries on the GHI. The country was ranked 86th_ 88th and 90th respectively in previous three years. According to the latest index_ Bangladesh has made significant inroads in curbing child stunting_ with the rate dropping by 12.8 percentage points between 2012 and 2020. But undernourishment remains an issue_ with 13 per cent of the population suffering from nutritional deficiencies. It marks a marginal improvement on the rate of 13.8 per cent in 2012. Meanwhile_ the under-five mortality rate in the country is 3 per cent in 2020_ down from 4.3 per cent in 2012. Sri Lanka (64th) and Nepal (73rd) are the only countries in the region to fare better than Bangladesh on the index_ both with 'moderate' levels of hunger. Meanwhile_ India (94th) is lagging behind Pakistan (88th) in the rankings with Afghanistan (99th) the only other country to feature in the index. GHI values are determined by four indicators  undernourishment (share of population whose caloric intake is not sufficient)_ child wasting (children_ below the age of five_ who have low weight for their height)_ child stunting (children_ below the age of five_ who have low height for their weight) and child mortality (mortality rate of children below the age of five).