The fundamental right to food

Like the laws of nature, monga is a usual phenomenon in this time of the year -- a period of time which falls in between harvests. This phenomenon has been in existence in some parts of Bangladesh over generations. Its effects are more severe this year due to the after-effects of the devastating floods of last summer and the recent sharp price hikes of many of the bare necessities of life.

The recent floods caused widespread devastation and damage. Based on the information compiled by the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management, the floods killed 747 persons and directly affected 3,63,37,944 individuals or 74,68,128 families in 39 districts. Crops of 27,66,305 acres of land belonging to them were damaged, of which 17,28,129 acres were fully damaged and of 10,38,176 acres partly damaged. Number of houses fully damaged were 8,94,954 and partially damaged were 33,88,992. Many families lost everything and are now in a dire situation.

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According to the latest information available from the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management, Tk. 4,24,25,000 as GR (gracious relief) cash, Tk. 60 lakh cash for house repairs and Tk. 24 lakh cash for saris. In addition, 58,723.22 metric tons of GR rice (with an approximate cash value of Tk. 7,04,67,600 at Tk. 12,000 per metric ton), 2,700 pieces of lungis, 7,410 tins of biscuits, and 15,000 bundles of corrugated iron sheets were provided by the government as relief to the flood affected people. The cash relief and the cash value of GR rice is Tk. 12,12,93,000, which comes to less than Tk. 4 per flood affected person or Tk. 17 per family. Furthermore, the Ministry of Agriculture is reported to have initiated a Tk. 163 crore programme to distribute seeds and fertiliser among 26 lakh families, leaving outside its coverage 48,68,128 affected families.

It is clear that the programmes initiated by the government to directly assist the flood affected people are inadequate at best. The Parliamentary Standing Committee for the Ministry of Agriculture has already expressed its dissatisfactions about the government's post-flood rehabilitation initiatives. In view of the government's step-motherly response toward the flood affected people, it is not surprising that the effects of monga are more severe and deadly this year.

The government is now trying to deal with the monga situation with additional relief efforts. So far the flood relief included 3,630 metric tons of rice for food for works programme, 2,996 metric tons as test relief, Tk. 4,57,09,609 as money for works programme. Furthermore, 10 kgs of rice each month for three months are being provided for 8,75,000 VGF cards, the total of which would come to 2,62,50,000 metric tons. In spite of such relief efforts, the people in the monga affected areas are reported to be still suffering.

The spiraling prices of basic necessities in recent weeks only worsened the sufferings of the monga affected people. The prices of many necessities consumed by the common people skyrocketed at the beginning of the holy Ramadan. The price hikes were caused by unscrupulous practices of a section of dishonest traders and toll collections in the transport sector and by the law enforcement agencies. This obviously accentuated the sufferings of the people in the monga affected regions.

The privileged class of Bangladesh has always benefited at the cost of the disadvantaged. In fact, our country is run in the interests of the powerful and the privileged. As a result, over the years the rich have become increasingly richer and the marginalised increasingly deprived. According to government statistics, the share of the national income of the richest 5 percent of the families of Bangladesh increased from 18.85 percent in 1991-92 to 23.62 percent in 1995-96 and then to 30.66 percent in 2000. During the same time period, the share of the national income of the 5 percent of the poorest families declined from 1.03 percent to 0.88 percent and then to 0.67 percent. Such disparity continues unabated, representing a "gift" of democracy to the poor of this country! The parsimonious decisions of our policymakers during the recent floods represent yet another example of discrimination against the poorer segment of the society.

The discrimination against the less privileged has a price. Many of the deprived suffer from malnutrition. Nearly 50 percent of our children below the age of 5 suffer from malnutrition, which is among the highest in the world. Most, if not all, of these children are from poor families.

Malnutrition is a silent killer. The immune system of the malnourished persons does not develop fully or function efficiently, and they easily die of diseases like diarrhea, which is not generally viewed as a killer disease. According to the World Bank and other development partners of Bangladesh, nearly 700 Bangladeshis die of hunger-related causes every day. Based on the information of the World Food Programme, worldwide nearly 24,000 people die of such causes on a daily basis. The apparent causes of these deaths are various diseases, but the real reasons are chronic persistent hunger. Thus, although some of the recent deaths in monga-affected regions may be due to certain visible diseases, the actual causes may be the deprivation-related chronic malnutrition.

The discrimination against, and deprivation of, the poor not only represent a flagrant cruelty to them, but also a disgraceful robbing of their constitutionally mandated rights, enshrined in Articles 31 and 32.

Article 31 of the Bangladesh Constitution states: "[N]o action detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law."

Article 32 states: "No person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty save in accordance with law."

Thus, the right to life is a fundamental right which cannot be abridged even by legislative actions and it is enforceable in court. Its sweep is also wide and far-reaching.

In Dr. Mohiuddin Farooque vs. Bangladesh, the High Court Division held that right to life includes "means of livelihood, enjoyment of pollution-free water and air, bare necessaries of life, facilities of education, development of children, maternity benefit, free movement, maintenance and improvement of health by creating and sustaining conditions congenial to good health and ensuring equality of life consistent with human dignity."

Thus, it is clear that the right to food is recognised as a fundamental right by our courts.

A recent Indian case on the issue of the right to food for the drought affected people of Rajasthan is relevant for the flood and monga affected people of Bangladesh.

In 2001, the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) filed a public interest litigation before the Supreme Court of India against the government of India, the Food Corporation of India (FCI), and six state governments with the allegations of inadequate drought relief in Rajasthan. The case was later extended to the larger issue of chronic hunger, with all states and union territories as respondents. Although the court has not yet given it final judgment, it accepted the interpretations of the right to life clause of the Indian constitution given in earlier court decisions, issued a series of interim orders, and appointed two commissioners to ensure their implementation.

For example, the court ordered on November 28, 2001 that: "We direct the State Governments/Union Territories to implement the Mid-Day Meal Scheme by providing every child in every Government and Government assisted Primary Schools with a prepared mid-day meal with minimum content of 300 calories and 8-12 grams of protein each day of school for a minimum of 200 days." The court also gave specific directions pertaining to eight food-related schemes and required the involvement of Gram Panchayat in their implementation.

The court also held that the lack of funds cannot be an excuse -- an excuse frequently used by governments -- for not providing adequate support to people affected by disasters.

The inadequate relief and rehabilitation support of the government not only violates the fundamental rights of the flood and monga affected people, it also violates Article 15 and 19 of the Bangladesh Constitution, which are part of the Fundamental Principles of State Policy. These two Articles speak of ensuring the basic necessities of life such as food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care, and equality of opportunity for all.

It is clear that the government is in breach of its constitutional obligations to provide adequate support to the flood and monga affected people, as a result of which people are now suffering. We request the authorities to take immediate and urgent measures to remedy this situation. Fortunately, the government is reported to have decided to embark on a Tk. 75 programme for the five districts of greater Rangpur after Eid. While we welcome the decision, we also would like to emphasise the need for a permanent and lasting solution of the monga situation and also substantially increase the support to those flood affected people who are in dire needs in other regions of the country.

Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar is Global Vice President and Country Director, The Hunger Project-Bangladesh.