According to figures made public by the United Nations Development Programme on the occasion of 27th World Food Day on Tuesday, 27 per cent Nepali households are “food insecure” or devoid of their daily dose of nutritious food. Likewise, a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) study shows 42 districts facing food deficit and 23 per cent Nepalis malnourished. The fact that a third of the population live below the poverty line in Nepal should therefore be a serious cause of concern for the government .

The Interim Constitution has outlined right to food as a fundamental right. But the provision has remained confined to the papers for reasons like the lack of resources and political instability. It seems that because of the political crisis in the country, its social and economic concerns are being sidelined. But political turmoil alone cannot account for the lack of effort on this front. Even at the best of times, pressing issues of people living below the poverty line have received little attention of the urban-centric government. Successive governments have resorted to stopgap measures when there is dire shortage of food in rural areas, but so far there is no long-term plan to address food insecurity. It is the duty of the government to feed its citizens. Without a healthy populace, most economic and political development initiatives will come to a naught.