2016 Food policy

Committee on the Rights of the Child, Recommendation for South Africa par. 53 (a), (b), (c) and (d) and par. 54 (a), (b), (c) and (d) (2016)

Text of the recommendation

53. The Committee welcomes the adoption of the Roadmap for Nutrition in South Africa 2013-2017, as well as the efforts made to facilitate breastfeeding. Nevertheless, the Committee is concerned at: (a)Child malnutrition, including undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and overnutrition, as key contributing factors for child mortality and child morbidity; (b)Child food insecurity caused by, among other things, poverty, food price increases, demographic changes, energy costs and climate change; (c)The persistently low rate of exclusive breastfeeding of infants aged up to 6 months; (d)The inadequate nutritiousness of food provided in the school meal programme; (e)The increase in the prevalence of obesity among children and the aggressive marketing of unhealthy food targeting children. 54. Taking note of target 2.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals on ending all forms of malnutrition, the Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Develop and implement a framework law on the right to food, as envisaged in the National Policy on Food and Nutrition Security for the Republic of South Africa, of 2014, paying due attention to the eradication of child food insecurity and malnutrition; (b) Take all measures necessary to promote exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months, with appropriate guidance and support for breastfeeding by HIV-infected mothers, and to regulate the promotion of breast milk substitutes; (c) Strengthen the monitoring of the National School Nutrition Programme, including of the frequency, quality and nutritional value of the food supplied through the programme; (d) Regulate the marketing of unhealthy foods to children in order to address the rise in child obesity, and introduce strategies that enable poor households to access healthy food; (e) Seek technical assistance from UNICEF and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in this regard.

Citation

Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding observations on the second periodic report of South Africa, CRC/C/ZAF/CO/2, (2016). Par. 53 and 54. Available at: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2fC%2fZAF%2fCO%2f2&Lang=en