The COVID-19 pandemic has created numerous challenges. These are not limited to medical problems and instead extend to areas such as loss of livelihood and lack of access to food. Children have been the worst affected, as although the number of COVID-19 cases is fewer among children, national responses to the pandemic have had major consequences for children’s rights to education and food. 

Nearly 1.5 billion children have been kept away from school for over four months due to pandemic response measures adopted by various nations. Lockdowns have forced the closure of schools in more than 180 countries. This has not only impacted children’s right to education but also their right to adequate food. It is predicted that more than 350 million schoolchildren in countries with nationwide and localized closures might not currently have access to regular school feeding and nutrition services. This has come as a double blow for poor families who are also facing the brunt of the economic slowdown and are incapable of feeding their children nutritious food. 

MANY CHILDREN DEPEND ON SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRAMMES

Many children worldwide depend on school feeding programmes, and so school closures mean they are at risk of not getting adequate food. In England, about 1.3 million children – about 15% of state-educated pupils - claimed free school meals in 2019. As the majority of children have not been at school during the coronavirus pandemic, serious concerns about their access to food have been raised. These concerns  led to an impassioned campaign by Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford to change the government’s policy on free school meals for the poorest children. The campaign was a success and the UK government took a U-turn and agreed to provide food vouchers to eligible pupils throughout the summer break. 

Similarly in United States (US), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program serve nearly 35 million children daily, delivering vital nutrition and financial assistance to families in need. These programmes were of course interrupted by the pandemic. In order to address the issue, local education authorities (such as school superintendents and school boards) have been permitted to apply approaches from the USDA’s summer feeding programs and have been “encouraged to ensure that the needs of low-income children are met during extended school dismissals.” Also, pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, and based on the exceptional circumstances of this public health emergency, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has issued several nationwide waivers and has exercised existing statutory and regulatory authorities to support access to nutritious meals while minimizing potential exposure to the novel coronavirus.

Recently, Equal Education, a community and membership-based movement in South Africa, approached the Pretoria High Court on an urgent basis to seek an order to compel the government to provide meals to learners, regardless of whether they had returned to school or not. Though the judgement has been reserved on the issue as of now, the outcome of this case will shape the terrain for achieving effective accountability for socio-economic rights in South Africa for years to come. It should also be noted that most of the countriesimpacted by the pandemic are facing similar problems.

RECOGNISING THE RIGHT TO FOOD

The right to food has been recognised by various international law instruments. It is contained in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which talks about the right to an adequate standard of living, which includes the right to food. Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rightsalso recognises the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living, including the right to food. Similarly, Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child mandates the provision of adequate nutritious food to all children. 

The recognition of the right to food as an essential right under various international law instruments puts an obligation on countries to ensure that this right is secured and that people - especially children - do not face starvation. Though the pandemic has presented nations with unprecedented circumstances, it is necessary that the right to food be considered as the most basic right, violation of which would undermine the right to live a dignified life, in order to fight the pandemic in a holistic manner.

Pallav is a B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala. His areas of interest are Human Rights, Criminal Law, and Policy Making. As a community minded person he wants to bring a positive change in the world.

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