Prevalence of severe food insecurity South Asia 2014-2023

In 2023, 19.1 percent of the population in South Asia was exposed to severe food insecurity. This was a slight increase from the previous year, when 19 percent of South Asia's population was subject to severe food insecurity. 

Severe food insecurity in South Asia

Food insecurity describes the situation when a person lacks consistent access to an adequate supply of safe and nourishing food for normal growth or a healthy lifestyle. Meanwhile, severe food insecurity refers to extreme conditions when the person has no food for an entire day or longer. South Asia comprises some of the poorest economies in the Asia-Pacific region. Except for the Maldives, the gross domestic product per person of South Asian countries was below five thousand U.S. dollars. A combination of economic challenges, land degradation, climate change effects, and structural dependence on the global north partly induced by globalization, among other reasons, has resulted in the highest prevalence of severe food insecurity in the Asia-Pacific region for South Asia, with almost a fifth of the population experiencing severe food insecurity.

India’s food insecurity and lifestyle diseases

South Asia is home to about a quarter of the world’s population, with India making up more than seventy percent of it. The prevalence of chronic hunger, moderate and severe food insecurity in India between 2015 and 2021 continuously increased. The Indian government has deployed several public initiatives to ensure nutrition and food security in the country. Nevertheless, the Global Hunger Index has classified India among the countries that are most affected by hunger and malnutrition, with an index of 28.7. The situations that pose health risks not only stem from malnourishment but from lifestyle as well. For instance, lifestyle shifts towards more modern ones have led to an increase in common lifestyle diseases among Indians.