UN welcomes SC ruling of food supply

Two of the United Nations agencies have welcomed the verdict of the Supreme Court calling on the government to supply food to 12 food-scarce districts in the Mid- and Far-Western regions.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal and the World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed the Court's order recognising the "right to food sovereignty" in the Interim Constitution, a statement issued jointly by the agencies said.

OHCHR and WFP acknowledged the government is taking seriously the pressing issues of food shortages and rising food prices in these regions. Government has recently raised its budget allocation to the Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) to provide subsidised food to those districts.

WFP—in collaboration with the government and its partners—has fed approximately two million people in the Mid- and Far-West last year.

"Only with the support of the Government and other partners can WFP address the needs of vulnerable communities in these regions. While the NFC supplies food to larger population centres, WFP focuses its efforts on the more remote, rural areas. Nationwide, 2.5 million people in rural areas require immediate support as a consequence of rising food prices," the statement reads.

In the meantime, NFC has sent some tons of food to western district, Friday, in an effort to ensure adequate food during the festival seasons. NFC Nepalgunj said it hopes the stock will last till Tihar. nepalnews.com ia Oct 03 08