October 16: Nepal has ranked second in South Asia in the Global Hunger Index 2022. The Global Hunger Index 2022 released recently shows that Nepal ranks behind Sri Lanka in the list among South Asian Countries. It means that Nepal is one of the countries affected the least by hunger in South Asia.

Overall, Nepal ranks 81st out of the 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2022 ranking.

With a score of 19.1, Nepal has a level of hunger that is “moderate”.

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels. GHI scores are based on the values of four component indicators - undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality.

Undernourishment is determined on the basis of the share of the population with insufficient caloric intake while child stunting is measured based on the share of children under age five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic under-nutrition.

Similarly, child wasting is determined by the share of children under age five who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute under-nutrition and child mortality is based on the share of children who die before their fifth birthday, partly reflecting the fatal mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments.

 Based on the values of the four indicators, a GHI score is calculated on a 100-point scale reflecting the severity of hunger, where 0 is the best possible score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. Each country’s GHI score is classified by severity, from low to extremely alarming.

In South Asia, neighbouring India ranked 107 in the Global Hunger Index 2022 with its child wasting rate at 19.3 per cent being the highest in the world, according to the Economic Times.

The level of hunger in India with a score of 29.1 has been labelled "serious".

Sri Lanka with a global ranking of 64 tops the list in South Asia followed by Nepal (81), Bangladesh (84), Pakistan (99), India (107), and Afghanistan (109).