The status of the world, according to the Global Hunger Index 2011

IFPRI (The International Food Policy Research Institute) just published its 6th annual Global Hunger Index. If you want an overview of the state of the world, related to poverty, hunger, and overall development achievements, I think this is a must-read.

The Index combines three equally weighted indicators into one score:

• the proportion of people who are undernourished, 
• the proportion of children under five who are underweight, and 
• the under-five child mortality rate.

The 2011 Global Hunger Index (GHI) is calculated for 122 developing countries and so-called "countries in transition".
The most interesting, is the evolution of the index, per country, over the years. From the 1990 to the 2011 Index, the hunger situation worsened in six countries:the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, North Korea, the Comoros, Swaziland, and Cote d’Ivoire. Among these six countries, the DRC stands out. Its GHI score rose by about 63 percent. (Sometimes, I am ashamed to be a Belgian)

Here is an interactive map with the Hunger Index data, over the past 11 years:

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Picture of the day: Child malnutrition - old news in new India

Deep Kumar and Vishal are fed eggs by caretaker Nirmala Devi at the UNICEF-sponsored nutrition rehabilitation center in Saraiya in the impoverished eastern Indian state of Bihar. Half of young Indians are malnourished. In a nation seen as a rising power, combating the problem 'has not been a policy priority . . . for the last 40 years,' a U.N. expert says. (Full)

More Pictures of the Day on The Road.

Picture courtesy Anita Khemka (LA Times)

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