Global Hunger
Global Hunger
Global hunger has long been one of the biggest challenges for humanity. Despite economic progress and technological growth, millions of people around the world still sleep on empty stomachs. The recently released UN FAO’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 report offers both hope and urgency. It highlights that global undernourishment has declined to 8.2% of the population (673 million people), but the fight is far from over. A striking element of this progress is India’s decisive role, as the country has managed to reduce hunger for over 30 million people in the past few years. This achievement makes India not only a national success story but also a global game changer.
Hunger in Today’s World
Hunger is not merely about the absence of food; it is about the lack of adequate nutrition. The condition manifests in multiple ways:
- Undernourishment – when individuals fail to get sufficient calories to maintain daily activities.
- Malnutrition – when diets are poor in quality, lacking proteins, vitamins, and minerals.
- Hidden Hunger – when micronutrients such as iron, iodine, zinc, and Vitamin A are deficient, often without visible symptoms.
Thus, hunger is both a quantity and quality problem, affecting not just physical health but also cognitive development, productivity, and economic growth.
Causes Behind Persistent Hunger
While food production has increased significantly worldwide, hunger persists due to structural, social, and economic reasons.
1. Poverty and Inequality
Poverty continues to be the largest driver of hunger. Low incomes limit families from accessing food, even when it is available in the market. According to the NITI Aayog’s Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023, about 11.28% of India’s population remains multidimensionally poor, reflecting deprivation in nutrition, health, education, and living standards.
2. Agricultural Challenges
Agriculture, the backbone of food security, faces multiple obstacles. Fragmented landholdings, erratic monsoons, limited irrigation, and low productivity reduce output. Further, post-harvest losses account for nearly 13% of food produced, according to FAO, reducing actual food availability.
3. High Food Prices
Food inflation, particularly in protein-rich foods like pulses, eggs, and milk, makes nutrition unaffordable for the poor. The FAO estimates that 60% of Indians cannot afford a healthy diet, a figure that highlights how affordability matters as much as availability.
4. Weak Infrastructure and Supply Chains
Poor cold storage facilities, weak logistics, and inadequate warehousing contribute to massive food losses. The ICAR 2022 report estimates that India loses food worth ₹92,000 crore annually due to post-harvest inefficiencies.
5. Governance, Conflict, and Climate Change
Global hunger is worsened by wars, pandemics, and climate disasters. The Russia-Ukraine war disrupted wheat and fertilizer supply chains, while climate shocks such as floods and droughts affect crop yields in India. These shocks not only reduce production but also hurt farmer incomes, creating a vicious cycle of food insecurity.
6. Health and Sanitation Issues
Food insecurity often interacts with poor health. NFHS-5 (2019–21) shows that 35.5% of children under five are stunted and 19.3% are wasted in India. Poor sanitation, maternal malnutrition, and lack of clean water amplify the hunger crisis, particularly among children and women.
Consequences of Hunger
Hunger is not just a humanitarian issue—it has deep economic, social, and developmental consequences.
1. Human Capital Loss
Children suffering from stunting and wasting struggle in school and later face reduced productivity as adults. Hunger perpetuates the cycle of poverty across generations.
2. Economic Burden
Hunger costs nations billions of dollars in healthcare and lost productivity. The Global Nutrition Report (2021) estimated that malnutrition drains 2–3% of India’s GDP annually.
3. Health Risks
Undernourishment increases vulnerability to diseases like tuberculosis, diarrhoea, and anaemia. Micronutrient deficiencies can lead to blindness (Vitamin A deficiency), impaired immunity (zinc deficiency), and poor cognitive development (iodine deficiency).
4. Social Instability
History shows that food insecurity can spark unrest, migration, and conflict. From food riots in Africa to farmer protests in South Asia, hunger often destabilizes societies.
5. Setback to SDGs
Hunger directly undermines Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger, while also blocking progress in health, education, and decent work. Without tackling hunger, the broader SDG framework risks failure.
India’s Role in Combating Hunger
India, home to nearly 1.4 billion people, has become the most critical player in the global hunger fight. Its policies and scale of interventions demonstrate that large, diverse countries can make rapid progress with the right strategies.
1. Revamped Public Distribution System (PDS)
Through digitisation, Aadhaar-based authentication, and the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme, India has improved targeting and transparency. Today, subsidised food grains reach 800 million beneficiaries under NFSA and PMGKAY.
2. Nutrition-Specific Programmes
Schemes like PM POSHAN (Mid-Day Meal Scheme), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), and POSHAN Abhiyaan focus on maternal and child nutrition. The Anaemia Mukt Bharat campaign is reducing iron deficiency among women and children.
3. Digital and Technological Advantage
Platforms like e-NAM and AgriStack help farmers access markets and reduce inefficiencies. Geospatial tools for crop monitoring and digital grievance redressal mechanisms indirectly strengthen food security.
4. Agrifood System Transformation
India is promoting climate-resilient crops, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), and women-led food enterprises. Expansion of cold chains and logistics aims to reduce post-harvest losses significantly.
5. Global Leadership
India’s progress is a model for Global South countries. Its ability to reduce hunger at scale while embracing digital governance has made it a reference point for international policy frameworks on food security.
Way Forward
While India’s journey is commendable, the path ahead requires deeper structural reforms to ensure nutrition security for all.
1. Shift from Calories to Nutrition
India must focus on nutrient-rich diets, not just filling stomachs with rice and wheat. Food fortification (rice, wheat, salt, edible oils) and subsidies on protein-rich foods like pulses, eggs, and milk are essential.
2. Strengthen Infrastructure
Expanding cold chains, modern warehouses, and farmer cooperatives can cut down huge post-harvest losses. Reducing the ₹92,000 crore wastage is as important as increasing production.
3. Make Healthy Diets Affordable
Policies must ensure that fruits, vegetables, dairy, and animal-based foods are accessible to low-income families. Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) can help subsidise nutrient-rich diets.
4. Empower Small Farmers and Women
Strengthening FPOs, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and women-led agri-businesses can create inclusive food systems. Promoting climate-smart and biofortified crops will ensure resilience against climate shocks.
5. Address Malnutrition and Obesity Together
Urban India faces a paradox of undernutrition and rising obesity. India needs double-duty policies that simultaneously address both problems through balanced diets and nutrition literacy campaigns.
6. Global Knowledge Sharing
India can export its successful models—such as ONORC, PDS digitalisation, and POSHAN schemes—to other developing nations, thereby shaping the global hunger reduction agenda.
Conclusion
The world stands at a critical juncture in its fight against hunger. With only five years left for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, global success will depend heavily on India’s leadership. By shifting from calorie security to nutrition security, modernising its agri-food systems, and empowering small farmers and women, India has already shown how hunger reduction can be achieved at scale.