World Food Day 2022: India has enough food but lacks an effective distribution

World Food Day is celebrated on October 16. The UN has established a global goal to “eliminate hunger by 2030” as one of the Sustainable Development Goals. The phrase “leave no one behind” runs throughout that objective. But for now, the globe is a long way from achieving this goal.

One of the main private assistance organizations in Germany, Welthungerhilfe, which supports “Zero Starvation by 2030,” estimates that a child dies from hunger every 13 seconds. Even if there is adequate food, information, and resources for everyone, and furthermore, eating is a human right, up to 828 million people worldwide are going without.

The pandemic has increased the difficulty of the task at hand and put more substantial obstacles in the way. Therefore, it is even more crucial that we step up our efforts to make sure that nobody is left behind or goes to bed hungry. The health and food systems have been put to the test by the pandemic. Our food systems’ widespread inequality and inefficiency have been made clear by this. Many of us take food for granted despite though it is essential for survival and the foundation of our cultures and civilizations, while others go without. It is also a crucial reminder that more needs to be done right away to end hunger and make sure that everyone has access to adequate nutrient-rich food to living active, healthy lives.

The UN works with nations and people worldwide to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include eradicating all forms of hunger and malnutrition through its many organizations, funds, and programmes. We must demonstrate the same flexibility and ingenuity to eliminate poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. The UN is taking innovative steps with its allies to address the health crisis and stop it from becoming a food calamity.

We must exhibit the same agility and creativity to eradicate poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. Together with its partners, the UN is pushing the envelope to respond to the health crisis and prevent it from becoming a food disaster.

In addition, 39 million children under the age of five were overweight, and 149 million had stunted growth and development as a result of a chronic shortage of vital nutrients in their diets.

India is ranked 101st out of 116 nations on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 Ranking. India is estimated to have widespread and rising food insecurity, according to the most recent State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, which was jointly released on July 6 by five UN organisations. According to the report’s data, it is anticipated that between 2019 and 21 around 56 crore Indians, or 40.6% of the country’s population, experienced moderate or severe food insecurity.

World Food Day 2022

The Indian government has launched a number of programmes, such as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY), to reverse this tendency and hasten the abolition of famine and malnutrition. The programme was recently extended for three months, from October to December 2022, so that participants could continue to benefit from the simple availability of food grains without experiencing any financial hardship.

India has effectively maintained food security for its vulnerable parts while taking required steps to ensure availability and affordability for the average person at a time when the rest of the globe is struggling with the impacts of COVID on its decrease and insecurity for a variety of causes. The government’s financial impact has increased by around Rs 3.45 lakh crore.

The government is alone in charge of administering programmes like the National Nutrition Mission (NNM), the National Food Security Mission, the Zero Hunger Programme, the Eat Right India Movement, and initiatives to end hunger and provide food fortification. Reports show that such schemes have a long-lasting impact.

In addition to fighting hunger and food insecurity, the government must evaluate the nation’s shortcomings. India has been fighting an ongoing battle because of its rapid population increase. A country’s ageing population structure may gradually reduce the labour force needed for food production, hence reducing the amount of food available. This has caused the future development of food production to shift its emphasis from labour expansion to technological innovation.

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