India is home to 42% of the world's underweight children

Trailing even Pakistan

India has been ranked 67, way below neighbouring countries like China and Pakistan, in the new Global Hunger Index (GHI) published recently by the International Food Policy Research Institute.

The index rated 84 countries on the basis of three leading indicators - prevalence of child malnutrition, rate of child mortality, and the proportion of people who are calorie deficient.

China is rated much ahead of India at the ninth place, while Pakistan is at the 52nd place on the 2010 Index, released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in association with a German group Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.

Image: A woman prepares chapati by the fireside as her son eats a meal at their home in Allahabad.

Text: Agencies

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