Kathmandu, June 30: Foreign Minister Dr Arju Rana Deuba has stated that Nepal has provided constitutional assurance to the food-related rights of its citizens.

Minister Deuba addressing the special ministerial session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization held in Rome, Italy, on Sunday, informed that the fundamental rights in Nepal's constitution include provisions related to the citizens' right to food.

During the session on food rights and nutrition for the least developed, small island nations, and landlocked countries at the organization's 44th special session, she stated, 'Nepal recognizes food rights as a fundamental right and other essential laws have provided the foundation for its implementation and realization. Additionally, the implementation of the food system transformation strategic plan also further supports citizens' food rights.

She stated that safe and quality food has been ensured through regulatory standards, laboratory monitoring, and consumer protection via the food security and quality control policy. She said, “A separate consumer court has been arranged to protect the rights of consumers, which is supporting citizens' health and healthy food as their natural right.”

The Minister informed that Nepal has made significant progress in the areas of child health and nutrition over the past two decades. She stated that stunting in children has decreased from 57% to 25%, the prevalence of underweight children has decreased from 42% to 24%, and the morbidity rate in children has reduced from 15% to 8%. She also mentioned that in the global hunger index, Nepal's index was 37% in 2000, which has now fallen to 22.4% in 2024.

People’s News Monitoring Service.