Cebu City – One of the protected human rights, the right to food has long been concepted in history. Way back in 1948, in the article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food.” All of us, no matter who or what or where are our origins, has the right to a lifestyle that is sufficient for standard health and well-being, including the access to food.

In 1990 a series of UN-led conferences that focused on global issues such as human rights of women and children, hunger, among others has shaped the commitment and generated a Copenhagen Declaration of Social Development. And by September of 2000, world leaders assembled and adopted goals regarding peace, development, environment, human rights, and hunger which established the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. In our country, the right to nutrition is strongly expressed in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. 

There have been numerous strategies implemented to alleviate the problem of hunger and malnutrition. Many methods like supplementation, food fortification, dietary variation, information drive, and others are employed in order to enhance the nutritional status of populations with over- and undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies.

In the country, we have the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) which is an integral part of the Philippine Development Plan. The PPAN serves as blueprint of all the program, projects and activities to be done to address malnutrition and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030. // DMO II Gabe Henriel P. Sucalit, RND