India slipped to the 102 spot in the Global Hunger Index which features 117 countries, according to Concern Worldwide, an aid agency which compiles the report.

India was the lowest ranked South Asian country in Global Hunger Index even behind Pakistan which was ranked 94th. Indeed, India is also ranked below countries such as North Korea at 92.

The report warned that the progress towards a 2030 zero hunger target that was agreed upon by leaders across the words was ‘under threat’.

The report, topped by Central African Republic, said that it was becoming difficult to feed the world due to climate change.It said that while there has been progress in reducing hunger, but the gains are now being threatened and severe hunger persists in many regions across the world.

‘Hunger stubbornly persists in many countries and is actually increasing in others. Multiple countries have higher hunger levels now than in 2010, and approximately 45 countries are set to fail to achieve low levels of hunger by 2030,’ said Concern Worldwide US CEO Colleen Kelly.

Among the 117 countries, 43 have ‘serious’ levels of hunger. The report said that the Central African Republic is in the ‘extremely alarming’ level in the hunger index while Chad, Madagascar, Yemen, and Zambia were in the ‘alarming’ level.

The Global Hunger Index also recommends various steps the countries could take to tackle this serious problem. Prioritizing resilience among the most vulnerable groups, better response to disasters, addressing inequalities, action to mitigate climate change are among measures suggested in the report.

Worldwide, the number of undernourished people – those who lack regular access to adequate calories – rose to 822 million last year from 785 million in 2015, with the greatest increase in sub-Saharan countries affected by conflict and drought.

Nine countries of concern were omitted due to lack of data, including Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, South Sudan and Syria.