Global Nutrition Report 2021: Key Findings, Objectives, and India-Specific Data!

The Global Nutrition Report 2021 is a comprehensive assessment. It covers the state of global nutrition. The report highlights the challenges of ending malnutrition. It supports evidence-based, timely, and effective actions. The goal is to end poor diets and malnutrition. The Global Nutrition Report aims to inspire action. It targets governments, donors, civil society organizations, businesses, and others. India has made progress in addressing malnutrition. Malnutrition among children and adults is a major issue in India. The report highlights the need for urgent action to address malnutrition in India.

Source: Global Nutrition Report

Global Nutrition Report 2021 is one of the most important topics for the UPSC IAS exam. It covers a significant part of Social Justice in the General Studies Paper 2 syllabus and events in and UPSC Prelims General Studies Paper 1 syllabus.

This article provides an overview of the Global Nutrition Report 2021. The report covers key findings and recommendations. It also has specific objectives and a focus on India. 

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What is the Global Nutrition Report?

The Global Nutrition Report (GNR) is an independent annual report that tracks progress in nutrition around the world. It is produced by an independent team of experts and is published by the Global Nutrition Report Foundation.

Objective of the Global Nutrition Report

The Global Nutrition Report has several objectives aimed at improving global nutrition. 

• The Global Nutrition Report aims to assess global nutrition comprehensively.
  • The report highlights successes, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.
  • The assessment is critical in identifying areas that need attention.
  • The report helps in developing strategies to address them effectively.
• Another objective of the Global Nutrition Report is to raise awareness about the importance of nutrition.
  • The report highlights nutrition as a key determinant of health and development.
  • The report provides evidence-based information to advocate for policies and programs prioritising nutrition.
• The report promotes the integration of nutrition into broader development agendas.
  • The report aims to facilitate dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders.
  • The stakeholders include policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.
  • The report seeks to identify solutions to improve global nutrition outcomes.
  • The report helps mobilize resources for improved nutrition outcomes.
  • Knowledge, expertise, and resources are key to improving nutrition.
• The Global Nutrition Report emphasizes accountability. Stakeholders have made commitments to improve nutrition.
  • The report tracks progress towards global nutrition goals.
  • The report highlights areas where action is needed to improve global nutrition outcomes.

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Key Highlights of Global Nutrition Report 2022

• Hunger: 768 million people were affected by hunger in 2021.
• Food insecurity: 29.3% of the world's population were moderately or severely food insecure in 2021. This is an increase from the 25.4% figure before the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Overweight and obesity: Around 40% of all adults and 20% of all children are now overweight or obese.
• NCDs: Obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasing in prevalence.
• Drivers of malnutrition: Global conflict conditions such as the Ukraine crisis and climate change continue to be the key drivers of this increase in malnutrition. However, policy interventions are not helping to reverse this trend.

India at Global Nutrition Report 2022

The Global Nutrition Report 2022 provides information about India's current situation regarding nutrition. Here are some key points:

• Childhood Stunting: India is making progress in reducing childhood stunting. However, the rate is still higher than the average in Asia. About 34.7% of children in India are affected by stunting.
• Childhood Overweight: A small percentage, around 1.6%, of children under the age of 5 in India are overweight.
• Exclusive Breastfeeding: Around 58% of infants between 0 to 5 months in India are exclusively breastfed.
• Anaemia and Childhood Wasting: No progress has been made in reducing anaemia and childhood wasting in India. About 53% of women aged 15 to 49 in India are affected by anaemia. 17.3% of children under the age of 5 in India suffer from wasting, which is one of the highest rates globally.
• Diet-related Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs): India has made limited progress in reaching targets related to diet-related non-communicable diseases. Approximately 6.2% of adult women and 3.5% of adult men in India are living with obesity. Moreover, 9% of adult women and 10.2% of adult men in India are affected by diabetes.

Recommendations of Global Nutrition Report 2022

• Far greater attention on food security that truly includes nutrition security in commitment-making.
• Diet quality should be screened when assessing food security interventions. This is needed to equitably address hunger and diet-related diseases.
• Transformative policies for food systems to ensure universal access to healthy and sustainably produced food. These policies include:
  • Crop diversification
  • Improving the nutrient profile of products through reformulation and fortification
  • School meals
  • Regulating labelling, marketing, and advertising practices.

Read about Malnutrition in India from this link!

Key Findings of Global Nutrition Report 2021

Some of the key findings from the Global Nutrition Report 2021 are as follows.

Global Nutrition Target

The World Health Assembly set six critical nutrition targets to achieve by 2025.

• To reduce stunting in children under five by 40%. 
• To cut the prevalence of anaemia in women between the ages of 19 and 49. 
• To ensure a 30% reduction in low birth weight.
• To stop the rise in childhood obesity. 
• To increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months to at least 50% 
• To keep childhood wasting at or below 5%
• Key Finding:
  • The current rate of progress is insufficient to achieve the global nutrition targets by 2025.

Impact of Covid-19

• The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened global poverty.
  • An estimated 155 million more people have been pushed into extreme poverty.
  • The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable populations.
  • Those who are already suffering from diet-related chronic diseases are more susceptible to the virus.
  • Obesity is a significant risk factor for severe COVID-19 illness and death.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has added to the challenges of achieving global nutrition targets.
  • The pandemic has disrupted food systems and access to nutrition.
  • Low-income countries have been particularly affected.
  • The pandemic has highlighted the importance of nutrition.
  • The pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing vulnerabilities.
  • It has underscored the importance of addressing underlying health and social inequalities.
  • These inequalities contribute to malnutrition.
  • Urgent action is needed to ensure access to healthy and nutritious food for all.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on nutrition.
  • Vulnerable populations, such as women and children, are at higher risk.
  • The pandemic has worsened malnutrition in these populations.

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Variation in Data Availability

• Progress towards global nutrition targets varies significantly across 194 countries.
  • Data availability and quality are not consistent across countries.
  • Only seven countries are on track to meet four of the six nutrition targets.
  • The nutrition targets are set for maternal, infant, and young child nutrition.
  • The targets are set to be achieved by 2025.
• No country seems to be heading in the right direction to stop the increasing trend of adult obesity.
  • No country seems to be on track to accomplish a 30% relative reduction in salt/sodium intake.
  • Country-specific interventions are needed to address the underlying causes of malnutrition.

Global Emission of Greenhouse Gas

Recent estimates indicate global food demand causes 35% of greenhouse gas emissions.

• Food production consumes significant and increasing environmental resources.
• Compared to 2010, the environmental impact of food demand has increased by up to 14%.
• Animal-based foods are the primary culprits of greenhouse gas emissions and land use.
• Northern American diets have the greatest environmental impact.
• African and Asian diets cause the least environmental impact.

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Low Dietary Progress

Rates of diet-related diseases and deaths are rapidly increasing in most regions.

• Deaths resulting from poor diets have risen by 15% since 2010.
• The growth of deaths is faster than the growth of the population.
• Poor diets are responsible for over 12 million non-communicable disease (NCD) deaths in adults.
• Poor diets account for a quarter (26%) of all adult deaths annually.
• Northern America and Europe have the highest proportion of premature deaths attributed to dietary risks (31% each).
• Africa has the lowest but still notable levels of premature deaths attributed to dietary risks (17%).
• No region is on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of reducing premature mortality from NCDs by 2030.

Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals target reducing health and environmental consequences of diets and the food system.

• Diets and the food system have significant health and environmental impacts.
• Unsustainable food production and consumption patterns contribute to malnutrition and environmental degradation.
• Addressing these issues requires multi-sectoral action.

Read about the National Mission on Sustainable Habitat from this link!

Data Specific to India 

Some of the findings from the Global Nutrition Report 2021, specific to India, are as follows:

Childhood Wasting 

India is among 23 countries that have made no progress or are worsening in reducing childhood wasting.

• Wasting refers to children whose weight is low for their height.
• Over 17% of Indian children under 5 years of age are affected by wasting.
• This figure is much higher than the average for Asia, where close to 9% of children are affected.

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Childhood Overweight

India is one of the 105 countries that are projected to meet the target for overweight childhood

• Childhood overweight is a major public health concern in India.
• Being overweight and obese can lead to various health issues later in life, such as diabetes and heart disease.
• India has made progress in reducing childhood overweight, which is a positive development.

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Child Stunting

In India, stunting affects more than 34% of young children under the age of five.

• Lack of sufficient nutrition during a child's early years can result in stunting.
  • Low height for age is a result of stunting.
  • Stunting is very common in children under the age of five in India.
• However, we can see some good news from the report.
  • India is one of 53 nations that are on track to meet the stunting target.
• This indicates that the number of kids who suffer from stunting has decreased over time.

Additionally, stunting can have a long-term impact on a child's cognitive development. It also has an impact on general health.

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Anaemic Women

India is one of the 161 countries that have shown no improvement or have worsened in their efforts to reduce anemia.

• The Global Nutrition Report 2021 highlights that over half of Indian women aged 15-49 years are affected by anemia.
• The situation has not improved since 2016.
• The percentage of anaemic women in India has increased from 52.6% in 2016 to 53% in 2020.
• This is a significant public health concern. Anaemia can lead to various health issues. Fatigue and impaired cognitive function are a few examples.

Read about the National Nutrition Strategy from this link!

India Achieving Targets

India has made significant progress in meeting 7 out of 13 global nutrition targets.

• India has made notable progress in reducing sodium intake.
• India has also made notable progress in controlling raised blood pressure.
• India has made considerable strides in addressing obesity and diabetes.
• This progress is particularly noteworthy given the significant burden of these conditions in the country.

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Key Recommendations

Based on the Global Nutrition Report, there are three key recommendations for addressing malnutrition in all its forms:

• Current efforts to tackle malnutrition are not sufficient to meet global nutrition targets by 2025.
  • Strong and comprehensive nutrition action is needed to combat poor diets and malnutrition.
  • An accountability framework is necessary to ensure that stakeholders take action to address malnutrition.
  • The Nutrition Accountability Framework was established by the Global Nutrition Report.
  • The framework sets SMART requirements to monitor nutrition commitments and measure their impact.
• Effective monitoring and assessment of progress in the fight against malnutrition.
  • Most countries need to improve the quality of their data on poor diets and malnutrition.
  • Better data will enable better monitoring and assessment of progress.
  • The Global Nutrition Report emphasizes the need for more granular data collected by countries.
  • Better quality and comparable data are especially important in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Diet plays a critical role in addressing malnutrition in all its forms.
  • Global nutrition targeting should expand to monitor key targets for improving diet and health. This will go beyond addressing micronutrient deficiencies, hunger, or excess weight.
  • There is an urgent need for international bodies, countries, and all stakeholders to recognize the importance of targeting and tracking poor diets.
  • This recognition will accelerate progress in tackling malnutrition in all its forms.

Read about the Healthy States Progressive India Report from here!

Highlights of Global Nutrition Report 2020

The 2020 Global Nutrition Report highlights the need to address malnutrition in all its forms.

• The report emphasizes the need to combat inequities in food and health systems.
  • The report introduces the concept of nutrition equity.
  • Nutrition equity examines how unjust systems and processes create barriers to healthy diets.
• The Global Nutrition Report 2020 identified India as one of the 88 countries likely to miss global nutrition targets by 2025.
  • The report highlights the need for urgent action to address malnutrition in India.
  • India has the highest rates of domestic inequalities in malnutrition.
• The Global Nutrition Report calls for a pro-equity agenda to end malnutrition.
  • This agenda integrates nutrition into food and health systems.
  • Adequate financing and accountability are essential to support this agenda.
  • Urgent action is needed to prioritize efforts where the need is greatest.
  • The 2025 global nutrition targets are quickly approaching.
• Governments, businesses, and civil society must work together to ensure access to healthy, affordable food and quality nutrition care.
• This collaborative effort is necessary to address deeper inequities that perpetuate malnutrition.

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Conclusion

The Global Nutrition Report 2021 is a call to action. This report shows that the country has made progress. There is still much work to be done. The government needs adequate funding for nutrition programmes. It also needs skilled manpower and timely project implementation. The government's vision is to have a well-connected and developed rural India. All stakeholders must prioritize nutrition as a fundamental aspect. The report highlights the underlying causes of malnutrition. The goal is to guarantee that everyone has access to nutritious food.

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