Access to adequate food is one of the basic rights of all people including persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are individuals who have a physical, mental or emotional condition that keeps him/her from living a social and functional life that is deemed to be usual for their peers without restrictions. They may experience difficulty in terms of right access to food and the right to good nutrition. According to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, more than 820 million people worldwide do not have enough food to eat and about 2 billion people experience moderate or severe levels of food insecurity.

Persons with disabilities are also at great risk first of malnutrition. They are at risk of undernutrition and sometimes to overnutrition with associated existing health conditions. Second, they are at risk of food insecurity because they lack secure access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food needed for growth and development to live actively and enjoy a healthy lifestyle.

To help improve their access to food and nutrition, these are the following actions to address these difficulties: Manage their access to food, including distribution chains, delivery methods, and information about food delivery. And help manage their sufficiency to nutrition, including the availability of food of adequate quality in adequate quantities, administered in an acceptable manner.

Food must be made accessible to all people including persons with disabilities at all times. Even though they are physically challenged, they still can contribute something and become productive citizens thus, let us not discriminate against them from gaining access to a sustainable job and income, and let us help in implementing policies to maintain the physical and economic access of persons with disabilities to avail a culturally acceptable food to make them food secured.

NO I Zhalimar A. Jakaria-Patulada

Policy Guidelines for Inclusive Sustainable Development Goals – Food and Nutrition

https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Disability/SDG-CRPD-Resource/ThematicBriefs/thematic-brief-food.pdf

Disability and Food Security: an Unfinished Policy Agenda

https://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/fao-food-insecurity