The 2017 Global Hunger Index (GHI) shows long-term progress in reducing hunger in the world. The advances have been uneven, however, with millions of people still experiencing chronic hunger and many places suffering acute food crises and even famine. According to 2017 GHI scores, the level of hunger in the world has decreased by 27 percent from the 2000 level. Of the 119 countries assessed in this year’s report, one falls in the extremely alarming range on the GHI Severity Scale; 7 fall in the alarming range; 44 in the serious range (including Haiti) ; and 24 in the moderate range. Only 43 countries have scores in the low range. In addition, 9 of the 13 countries that lack sufficient data for calculating 2017 GHI score -including Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria- raise significant concern, and in fact may have some of the highest levels of hunger.

To capture the multidimensional nature of hunger, GHI scores are based on four component indicators—undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting, and child mortality. The 27 percent improvement noted above reflects progress in each of these indicators according to the latest data from 2012–2016 for countries in the GHI.

Regarding Haiti whose score decreased from 51.6 (1992) 42.7 (2000) 42.6 (2008) to 34.2 in 2017 (compared to 11.6 for the Dominican Republic), the report says "These averages conceal some troubling results within each region, however, including scores in the serious range for Tajikistan, Guatemala, Haiti, and Iraq and in the alarming range for Yemen, as well as scores in the serious range for half of all countries in East and Southeast Asia, whose average benefits from China’s low score of 7.5.

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In terms of undernourishment, Zambia, Haiti, and CAR have the highest shares of undernourished people: between 45.9 and 58.6 percent of their populations cannot meet their minimum calorie needs.

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In the Central America and Caribbean region, Haiti ranked last (34.2), followed by Guatemala (20.7), Honduras (14.3), Nicaragua (13.6), Dominican Republic (11.6), El Salvador (11.1), Panama (9.2), Jamaica (8.0), Mexico (6.5), Costa Rica (5.3) and Cuba (<5).

HL/ HaitiLibre