Brazil was today rated the World’s leading nation in combating issues of hunger and malnutrition, according to a report released by non-governmental organisation Action Aid.

The Latin American nation, governed by President Luiz Inácio “Lula” Da Silva, was praised by Action Aid for its support of agrarian reform, as well as for instigating nutritional programs for those belonging to groups in greatest need. Thanks to these efforts child malnutrition has been cut by 73% in just six years.

The report, released in conjunction with UN-designated “World Food Day”, aims to give a clear picture of the scale and severity of food poverty and malnutrition across the globe, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of states’ programs in tackling these problems.

The next country in the rankings was China. Researchers applauded the fact that in the last ten years the number of citizens living in hunger had been reduced by 58m, primarily through state support for small producers. However in last place was India, which came in for harsh criticism for not arresting the rise of the number of people in food poverty. It is estimated that this number grew by some 30m from the mid-1990’s. In addition, 46% of Indian children are below their recommended weight, according to further Action Aid research.

The report follows a UN study which this claimed that world-wide over 1bn people are affected by hunger and food poverty, despite the fact that more food is being produced than at any time previously. Action Aid policy director Anna Jellema called on all governments to do more to eradicate world hunger: “It’s the role of the state and not the level of wealth, that determines progress on hunger,” she stated, pointing to the disappointing efforts of many developed countries, such as the U.S and Italy, in aiding efforts. “Every six seconds a child dies from hunger, but this scandal could easily be ended if all governments took determined action.”