Hyderabad: According to statistics, there are more than 690 million people across the globe dying from hunger. World Hunger Day is observed every year on May 28 to create awareness among the general public regarding hunger and poverty through sustainable initiatives. The was established by The Hunger Project in the year 2011. In the year 2023, World Hunger Day is being observed around the theme "Celebrating sustainable solutions to hunger and poverty".
This day helps in addressing the issue of food wastage across nations, making people aware that there are still people who do not get enough food to eat daily. Hunger is a global issue and should not be ignored. Food wastage and lack of food are problems also noticed in various regions of India. Many countries have managed to overcome this by developing sound policies, and India also needs to act in this direction.
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Even today, more than 690 million people around the world are facing hunger without food. According to the World Hunger Index, India ranks 94 out of 107 countries, and with a score of 27.2, is placed in the severe category. India also ranks first in the world in terms of malnutrition. Around 189.2 million people or 14 per cent of the country's population are malnourished.
On average, a person wastes around 50 kgs of food in India every year. According to the 2011 census in India, 14 per cent of the population, which is roughly 169.4 million people, are malnourished. Despite this, the report revealed that 11,520 tonnes of food grains were wasted in India in four years. The highest food wastage per person in South Asian countries is recorded by Afghanistan (82 kgs per year), followed by Nepal (79 kgs per year), Sri Lanka (76 kgs per year), Pakistan (74 kgs per year), and Bangladesh (65 kgs per year). India ranks at the bottom in terms of food wastage.
About 51.4 per cent of women in the age group of 15 to 49 are suffering from anaemia. 60 per cent of the women in the world die due to hunger, and over 130 million people have been facing hunger issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hunger kills more people in the world than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Therefore, there is an urgent need to stop wastage of food.
