Food as a human right was first laid down 66 years ago in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Adequate food and nutrition is the fundamental right of every citizen as enshrined by constitution of Pakistan. The Article 38 of the Constitution of Pakistan states “The State shall provide basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, housing, education and medical relief”.
Pakistan is in the list of top 10 countries with the highest number of death for children under-5 years. Many other reasons, malnutrition is one of the key factors behind these deaths. The right nutrition at the right time is critical for child survival and better health. To put this dire situation into context, for every 10 children born in Pakistan, one will die before celebrating his or her fifth birthday.
According to a report published earlier this year by the International Journal of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, in Pakistan, the prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight of children aged 3 years is 40.6%, 15.8% and 33.9% respectively. Despite many efforts on taking the issue of malnutrition, the progress remains unnoticeable.
Nutrition and Human Rights, to many people, including myself was a new dimension to think and advocate about. Everyone in their individual capacities needs to promote nutrition as a basic human right by increasing the understanding and knowledge.
Article 38 of the Constitution of Pakistan states that sufficient food and nutrition is the fundamental right of every citizen as enshrined. To claim this right, there is a strong need to make people aware about their rights.
However, despite the fact that access to food is the fundamental constitutional right of every citizen, statics show a bitter fact that nearly 58% of household in Pakistan are food insecure.
Out of all under 5 deaths take place in Pakistan, 35% are due to malnutrition. Considering the importance of issue, all the non-profit organisations, civil society, media, and government needs to come up with a collective and comprehensive action plan with clear targets, resources and roles & responsibilities.
Relevant policies needs to be reviewed for necessary legislative amendments to provide a suitable working environment.
Too many children are dying in Pakistan who don’t have to. We have solutions. We need to deliver them. If these recommendations are taken seriously and endorsed efficiently, thousands of children could be saved.
Author: Malik Wasim | Humanitarian and Social Activist
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