Global Hunger Index- 2010

Global Hunger Index 2010, conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ranked Nepal 56^th among 84 nations.
The Global Hunger Index is based on the proportion of undernourished in population, the prevalence of underweight in children and the mortality rate of children.
India has been ranked 67th, well below China (9th), Sri Lanka (39th) and Pakistan (52nd).
Ghana at 10^th with scoring 10 points. African countries that preceded Ghana on the table are Morocco with a score of 5.8, Gabon, 6.4; the island state of Mauritius, 6.7 and South Africa, 7.3.
Other African countries which though can be found in the first 40 on the table, had scores of more than 10, are: Swaziland at number 27 with a score of 10.8, Lesotho – number 31 with a score of 12.2, Botswana at 32 with a score of 12.5, Mauritania at 35 with a score of 13.1, Namibia at 37 with a score of 13.6, Cote d’Ivoire at 38 with a score of 14.0 and Uganda at number 40 with a score of 15.0.
The other African countries that were ranked below 40 as a result of their poor scores are Congo Republic at 41 with a score of 15.2, Senegal at 43 with a GHI score of 16.8, Benin, Guinea, Cameroon, Nigeria, Malawi, The Gambia from 44 to 49 with scores of 17.1, 17.1, 17.6, 17.8, 18.2 and 18.5 respectively.
They were followed by Mali at spot 52 with a score of 19.1, Kenya at 55 with a score of 19.8, Tanzania at 57 with a score of 20.7, Sudan – 58 with a score of 20.9, Zimbabwe also at 58 with the same score of 20.9, Burkina Faso, Togo, Guinea-Bissau, Rwanda, Djibouti and Mozambique taking the 61st to 66th spots with scores of 21.1, 22.4. 22.6, 23.1, 23.5 and 23.7 respectively.
The rest are Liberia at number 69 with a score of 24.3, Zambia at 20 with a score of 24.9, Niger – 72 with a score of 25.9, Angola 73 with a score of 27.2, Central African Republic at number 75 with a score of 27.4, Madagascar at 76 with a score of 27.5 and the Comoros Islands at number 77 with a score of 27.9.
At the bottom of the table are Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Chad, Eritrea, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo from 79 to 84 with scores of 28.9, 29.8, 30.9, 35.7, 38.3 and 41.0 respectively.
Ranked one to ten on the GHI table are the Syrian Arab Republic (1), Trinidad and Tobago (2), Surinam (3), Colombia (4), Georgia (5), Morocco (5), El Savador (7), Paraguay (7), China (9) and Venezuela, RB (10), with scores of 5.2, 5.3, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.8, 5.9, 5.9, 6.0 and 6.1 respectively.
Meanwhile, 38 countries not included in the ranking because they had scores of less than five and can thus be said to be self sufficient in food, are Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan and Kuwait.
Ending the list are; Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and Uruguay.

Climate Change Vulnerability Index 2010

Bangladesh and India are the countries most vulnerable to climate change, according to an index released on 20^th October 2010 that rates the Nordic region least at risk.
British consultancy Maplecroft said its rankings showed that several "big economies of the future" in Asia were among those facing the biggest risks from global warming in the next 30 years as were large parts of Africa.
It said poverty and large low-lying coastal regions prone to floods and cyclones were among factors making Bangladesh the most exposed country. India, in second place, was vulnerable because of pressures from a rising population of 1.1 billion.
Madagascar was in third place, followed by Nepal, Mozambique, the Philippines, Haiti, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Myanmar. Vietnam, in 13th place and flood-hit Pakistan in 16th were also in the most exposed group.
Norway was bottom of the list of 171 nations, least vulnerable ahead of Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Sweden and Denmark -- all rich north European nations which may initially gain from factors such as longer crop growing seasons.
The ranking combined exposure to extremes such as droughts, cyclones and mudslides, sensitivity to damage tied to poverty, population, internal conflicts and dependence on agriculture, and the capacity of a country to adapt.
The U.N. panel of climate scientists says it is at least 90 percent likely that a build-up of greenhouse gases, mainly from human use of fossil fuels, is responsible for most warming in the past 50 years.
Among major economies, the United States ranked at 129, China 49, Brazil 81 and Japan 87. Most European Union nations were low on the list, among less vulnerable countries.
The "medium risk" category included Russia (117th), the United States (129th), Germany (131st), France (133rd) and Britain (138th).
Norway led the group of 11 nations considered at least risk, which is dominated by fellow Scandinavians as well as the Netherlands, which has worked hard to defend its low-lying land from rising seas.
Maplecroft published a climate vulnerability index in 2009 that placed 28 nations at "extreme risk", headed by Somalia, Haiti, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Burundi.
Some states were left off the list because of a lack of data, including North Korea, and small island states like the Maldives that are vulnerable to rising sea levels.

World Press Freedom Index- 2010

As of 2010 World Press Freedom Index released worldwide on 20^th October 2010, the France-based media rights body has placed Nepal on the 119th position in terms of press freedom.
It had placed Nepal on the 118th position in 2009. The Index, however, has not given any specific reason behind the deteriorating state of press freedom in Nepal.
The Index reveals that press freedom India and Thailand have also been challenged. Thailand (153rd) - where two journalists were killed and some 15 wounded while covering the army crackdown on the 'red shirts' movement in Bangkok - lost 23 places, while India slipped to 122nd place from 105th position last year mainly due to extreme violence in Kashmir.
Likewise, Afganistan and Pakistan have been ranked 147th and 151st, respectively. According to the Index, Islamist groups bear much of the responsibility for their country's pitifully low ranking. “Suicide bombings and abductions make working as a journalist an increasingly dangerous occupation in this area of South Asia,” states the report, adding: “And the state has not slackened its arrests of investigative journalists, which sometimes more closely resemble kidnappings.”
Though Sri Lanka jumped four places up as compared to last year due to less violence reported there, the media´s ability to challenge the authorities has weakened with dozens of journalists being exiled, according to the Press Freedom Index.
The Index has also painted a grim picture of press freedom in communist regimes of Asia. Asia´s four communist regimes, North Korea (177th), China (171st) and Vietnam (165th), and Laos (168th) are among the fifteen lowest-ranked countries in the 2010 World Press Freedom Index.
Laos, Rwanda, Yemen, China, Sudan, Syria, Burma, Iran, Turkeministan, North Korea and Eritrea have been ranked among 10 countries at the bottom of the index.