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This article was first published 11 years ago

The alarming picture of poverty in India

Last updated on: October 24, 2012 06:26 IST

Image: Severely malnourished two-year-old girl Rajni is weighed by health workers at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh.
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.

One in three of the world's malnourished children is in India, more even than in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a United Nations study.

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The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: Rinku, 20 months, who weighs 4 kg and suffers from severe malnutrition, lies in his mother's lap in Naingarh village of Sheopur district in Madhya Pradesh.
Photographs: Reinhard Krause/Reuters.

Despite significant economic progress in the past decade, India is home to about 25 percent of the world's hungry poor.
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Tags: India

The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: Four-year-old Kiran, who is suffering from malnutrition, stands next to her mother Sheil Rani in Balabehat village in Lalitpur district, in Uttar Pradesh.
Photographs: Reinhard Krause/Reuters.

India ranks 65th out of 79 countries on the Global Hunger Index, a new report by the International Food Policy Research Institute.

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The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: A child has his breakfast at a flood relief camp in Purniya district town of Bihar.
Photographs: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters.

The International Food Policy Research Institute report has sharply criticised India for not moving fast enough to reduce malnourishment, and has said that its nutritional indicators are far worse than its economic indicators merit.

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alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: A girl lies on the ground as she cries for food in Akhera village in Haryana.
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.

According to the findings of the Global Hunger Index 2012 by  the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), India's latest score in the Hunger Index (GHI) has once again returned to the 1996 levels, after showing a minor deterioration between 1996 and 2001.

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The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: A child of a slum dweller eats food outside her house at a slum area in Jammu.
Photographs: Amit Gupta/Reuters.

In 1990, India's GHI score as monitored by IFPRI was 30.3, which fell to 22.6 in 1996.  But again rose to 24.2 in 2001 and stood at 22.9 in 2012, much closer to 1996 levels. The lower the index, lower is number of incidence of hunger.

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Tags: IFPRI , GHI , India

The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: A hungry and homeless child cries in Siliguri.
Photographs: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters.

Overall, India is ranked 65th among 79 major countries where hunger is prevalent, much below smaller nations like Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan and Nepal.

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The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: hildren ask for food in the closed Chinchula tea garden estate, about 165 km (103 miles) from Siliguri.
Photographs: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters.

In the IFPRI's index, hunger is measured through three indicators, which are given equal weight: undernourishment, indicated by the proportion of undernourished people in total population; the proportion of children under five who are underweight; and the mortality rate of children under five. 

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Tags: IFPRI , India

The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: Four-month-old Vishakha, who weighs 2.3 kg (5 lbs) and suffers from severe malnutrition, is carried at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh.
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.

India's progress since 1990 in overall undernourishment has been minimal, though it has improved nourishment of children under five (by 36 per cent) and mortality of children under five (by a substantial 82 per cent). 

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Tags: India

The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: A woman feeds her malnourished child with special food at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh.
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.

In India, 43.5 per cent of the children under five are underweight, which accounts for almost two-thirds of the country's alarmingly high GHI score.

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Tags: India , GHI

The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: A woman holds her one-year-old granddaughter Sakshi, who weighs 3.8 kg (8 lbs) and suffers from severe malnutrition, while waiting to receive her medicine at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh.
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.

From 2005-2012, India is ranked second to last on child underweight -- below Ethiopia, Niger, Nepal and Bangladesh.

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The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: A newborn baby wrapped in bandages lies in a tray just after delivery inside the labour room at a government hospital in Kasbathana village in Baran district in Rajasthan.
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.

A UNICEF study also shows that a total of 58 per cent of children under five surveyed were stunted.

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Tags: , UNICEF , India

The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: our-month-old Vishakha, who weighs 2.3 kg (5 lbs) and suffers from severe malnutrition, has her picture taken as she lies on a bed at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh.
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.

According to government figures, around 43 per cent of children under the age of five years are malnourished and more than half of all pregnancy women aged between 15 and 49 years suffer from anaemia.

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Tags: , India

The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: our-month-old Vishakha, who weighs 2.3 kg (5 lbs) and suffers from severe malnutrition, rests on a bed next to her mother at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh.
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.

Every day around 3,000 Indian children die from illnesses related to malnutrition.

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Tags: , India

The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: Health workers measure the height of severely malnourished two-year-old girl Rajni at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh.
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.

The states that suffer from hunger and malnutrition the most include Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh

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The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: A malnourished Sahariya tribe child is seen outside his house at Kasbathana village in Baran district in Rajasthan.
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.

In 2011, World Bank stated 32.7% of the total Indian people fall below the international poverty line of $ 1.25 per day (PPP) while 68.7% live on less than $2 per day.

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Tags: World Bank , PPP , India

The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: Three-year-old Babu, a child of a migrant labourer, holds a glass filled with tea outside a makeshift tent along a road on a cold morning in Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
Photographs: Parivartan Sharma/Reuters.

According to 2010 data from the United Nations Development Programme, an estimated 37.2% of Indians live below the country's national poverty line.

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The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: Naushad, 18-months-old and suffering from severe malnutrition, lies on his mother's lap inside their residence in Kalonda village near Sikandrabad district in Uttar Pradesh.
Photographs: Parivartan Sharma/Reuters.

A 2010 report by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) states that 8 Indian states have more poor than 26 poorest African nations combined which totals to more than 410 million poor in the poorest African countries.

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The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: Ranbir, twenty-six-months, who weighs 5 kg and suffers from severe malnutrition, waits for food at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh.
Photographs: Reinhard Krause/Reuters.

According to a new poverty Development Goals Report, as many as 320 million people in India and China are expected to come out of extreme poverty in the next four years, while India's poverty rate is projected to drop to 22% in 2015.

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Tags: India , China

The alarming picture of poverty in India

Image: Six-month-old Kiran, who weighs 3.5 kg and suffers from severe malnutrition, lies in bed at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre in Talbahet town in Uttar Pradesh.
Photographs: Reinhard Krause/Reuters.

The latest UNICEF data shows that 42 per cent of the nation's children under five years of age are underweight.


Tags: UNICEF , India