The GHI index is published annually by the non-governmental organizations Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. Estimates are calculated using a three-step process that relies on available data from various sources.
For each country, values are determined by four indicators:
Malnutrition: proportion of the population that is undernourished (that is, when the calorie intake is insufficient).
Child malnutrition: proportion of children under five years old who have been underfed (that is, low in weight for their height, indicating acute malnutrition).
Growth retardation in children: proportion of children under the age of five who are stunted (that is, they are short for their age, which indicates chronic malnutrition).
Child mortality: mortality rate of children under five years of age (partially indicates a mixture of factors such as inadequate nutrition and an unhealthy environment).
Then, in the study, each of the four component indicators is assigned a standardized score on a 100-point scale, based on the highest indicator level observed globally in recent decades.
If a country scores from 0 to 10 points, then here is “low hunger”, from 10 to 19.9 points – “moderate hunger”, from 20 to 34.9 points – “high hunger”, from 35 to 49, 9 points – “hunger level is critical” and from 50 points and above – “catastrophic”.
Among the neighboring countries, Kazakhstan took the 20th place, Kyrgyzstan – 35th and Turkmenistan – 54th.
The worst performance is recorded in some African countries, Pakistan, India and neighboring Afghanistan.
