Global Hunger Index (GHI)

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger globally, regionally, and by country.

Each year, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) calculates GHI scores in order to assess progress, or the lack thereof, in decreasing hunger.

The GHI is designed to raise awareness and understanding of regional and country differences in the struggle against hunger.

• An increase in a country's GHI score indicates that the hunger situation is worsening, while a decrease in the score indicates an improvement in the hunger situation.
• The scores are based on source data for the four component indicators. The data for these indicators are continually revised by the international organizations that compile them, and each year's GHI report reflects these revisions. 

• The 2016 GHI reflects country-level data and projections spanning the period 2011 to 2016.

The four component indicators used in the GHI are:

• Undernourishment: the proportion of undernourished people as a percentage of the population (reflecting the share of the population with insufficient caloric intake);
• Child wasting: the proportion of children under the age of five who suffer from wasting (low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition);
• Child stunting: the proportion of children under the age of five who suffer from stunting (low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition); and
• Child mortality: the mortality rate of children under the age of five (partially reflecting the fatal synergy of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments).

Here is how the Global Hunger Index (GHI) scores are calculated:

STEP 1 - Determine values for the component indicators:

PUN	proportion of the population that is undernourished (in %)
CWA	prevalence of wasting in children under five years old (in %)
CST	prevalence of stunting in children under five years old (in %)
CM	proportion of children dying before the age of five (in %)