A. Implications of this Right

Article 25(1), UDHR :

Every one has a right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being of himself and his family.

Article 7, ICESCR : same

Adequate for health and well-being means adequate food, clothing and housing.

• For children , this means physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being
• The possibility of obtaining these through "Work with Dignity", not degrading forms of earning, like begging

Adequate standard of living means living conditions above the poverty line; therefore the duty to eradicate poverty.

Poverty line -> two elements

• The expenditure necessary for to buy things necessary for minimum nutrition and basic necessities
• Costs of participating in society.

Adequate food

• to cover nutritional needs commonly available in market
• stability of supply

Adequate care

• for all- particularly vulnerable groups _ children, mothers
• adequate prevention and control of disease
• adressing malnutrition
• immunization

B. Special care for vulnerable groups

For Children

See: Convention on Rights of the Child-24(2)

(b) To ensure the provision of necessary medical assistance and health care to all children with emphasis on the development of primary health care;

(c) To combat disease and malnutrition, including within the framework of primary health care, through, inter alia, the application of readily available technology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drink-water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution;

(d)To ensure appropriate pre-natal and post-natal health care for mothers;

(e) To ensure that all segments of society, in particular parents and children, are informed, have access to education and are supported in the use of basic knowledge of child health and nutrition, the advantages of breast-feeding, hygiene and environmental sanitation and the  prevention of accidents;

(f) To develop preventive health care, guidance for parents, and family planning education and services.

Definition of care

Care is the provision in the household and the community of time, attention and support to meet the physical, mental and social needs of the growing child and other family members.  It leads to the optimal use of human, economic and organizational resources.  Particularly in the context of child nutrition, care allows for the best use of household food resources for the feeding of children.  It implies the effective use of resources to protect children from infection, to attend to a child during illness and to assist others who may be unable to care for themselves because of disability or old age.  More generally, care includes nurturing full psychological and emotional wellbeing.  These are goals in themselves, and in turn they can benefit nutrition and health.

(the United Nations Administrative Committee of Co-ordination, Sub-Committee on Nutrition-1990) [link?]

C. State Responsibility

ICESCR-11(2) :

The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually and through international co-operation, the measures, including specific programmes, which are needed:

(a) To improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources;

(b) Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need.