DUSHANBE, January 15, 2016, Asia-Plus – According to findings of the 2015 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Tajikistan tops the former Soviet republics in malnutrition.

The 2015 GHI notes that 33.2 percent of Tajikistan’s population is suffering from undernourishment.

In Russia, 0.7 percent of population is suffering from undernourishment; in Belarus – 0.8 percent; in Ukraine – 1.2 percent; in Latvia – 1.4 percent; in Lithuania – 1.4 percent; in Azerbaijan -1.7 percent; in Estonia – 2.0 percent; in Kazakhstan – 2.5 percent; in Turkmenistan – 3.2 percent; in Armenia – 5.8 percent; in Kyrgyzstan – 6.0 percent; in Georgia – 7.4 percent; in Moldova – 12.2 percent; and in Uzbekistan – 13.3 percent.

The  Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a multidimensional statistical tool used to describe the state of countries’ hunger situation. The GHI measures progress and failures in the global fight against hunger.  The GHI is updated once a year.

The Index was adopted and further developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and was first published in 2006 with the Welthhungerhilfe, a German non-profit organization (NGO).  Since 2007, the Irish NGO Concern Worldwide joined the group as co-publisher.

The Index ranks countries on a 100-point scale, with 0 being the best score (no hunger) and 100 being the worst, although neither of these extremes is reached in practice.  Values less than 10.0 reflect low hunger, values from 10.0 to 19.9 reflect moderate hunger, values from 20.0 to 34.9 indicate serious hunger, values from 35.0 to 49.9 reflect alarming hunger, and values of 50.0 or more reflect extremely alarming hunger levels.

The 2015 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report is the tenth in an annual series and its GHI scores are based on a new, improved formula that reflects the multidimensional nature of hunger by combining four indicators related to undernourishment, wasting, stunting, and child mortality.

The 2015 GHI was calculated for 117 developing countries and countries in transition, 80 of which with alarming or serious hunger levels.

In addition to the ranking, the Global Hunger Index report every year focuses on a main topic: in 2015 the thematic focus was on armed conflict and its relation to hunger.

According to the 2015 GHI , among regions, hunger is highest in Africa south of the Sahara and South Asia.  Africa south of the Sahara has a GHI of 32.2, while South Asia’s is 29.4.  Both regions’ GHI scores reflect serious levels of hunger.  In East Asia and Southeast Asia, the situation continues to improve. The 2015 GHI for the region is 13.2, reflecting moderate levels of hunger.  In the Near East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, the GHI scores (ranging from 8.0 to 13.2) reflect low to moderate levels of hunger

The food and hunger situation in several countries (Central African Republic, Chad, Zambia, Timor-Leste, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Madagascar, and Afghanistan) is still “alarming,” according to the 2015 GHI. Since 2000, Rwanda, Angola, and Ethiopia have seen the biggest absolute reductions in hunger, with GHI scores down by between 25 and 28 points in each country.