In a bid to tackle persistent malnutrition problems, the Food Management and Trading Company has started selling micronutrient-blended rice in various places across the country, including the Kathmandu Valley.

Officials hope that various problems caused by micronutrient deficiencies will come down once people start eating the rice fortified with crucial minerals.

The company has already been selling micronutrient-blended rice in Karnali Province for the past one year, as malnutrition is more severe in the region compared to other parts of the country.

“One might assume residents of the Kathmandu Valley don’t need micronutrient-fortified foods. But even in the capital, many people suffer from health problems linked to deficiencies of crucial micronutrients, including vitamin B12,” said Ambika Paudel, manager at the Sales and Distribution Department of the company.

Malnutrition is considered a silent health crisis in Nepal. The country has made significant progress in reducing stunting among children under five, which fell from 57 percent in 2001 to 25 percent in 2022, according to the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey-2022.

Paudel informed that the company has blended iron, zinc, vitamin A, Vitamin B12, B1, B2, B6, and folic acid into rice, the country's staple food. Though only iron, zinc, vitamin A, folic acid, and vitamin B12 are mandatory, the company has been blending additional micronutrients, such as vitamins B1, B2, and B6 as well.

Consumers have to pay an additional Rs5 per kilo for the fortified rice, which is blended in Kathmandu, Surkhet, Janakpur and Jajarkot.

Officials say they have been selling blended rice at market price in all five districts of Karnali Province. Fortified rice is available in 25kg sacks at the company’s outlets.

“We received a grant to sell micronutrient blended rice at market price in the districts of Karnali Province,” said Paudel. “We hope this initiative will help address malnutrition there.”

Malnutrition plays a major role in the under-five mortality rate, according to the nutrition section at the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services. Experts say malnutrition also hinders children’s mental development, and eventually affects the country’s economic health by weakening intellectual capacity, reducing productivity in adulthood, and increasing vulnerability to diseases.

Although the 2022 survey showed some improvement in the country’s overall nutrition status, progress is not the same in all provinces.

More than 16 percent of the children under five years in Lumbini Province suffer from wasting—the most immediate, visible, and life-threatening form of malnutrition.

Wasting, a debilitating disease that causes muscle and fat tissues to waste away among children under five, decreased from 11 percent in 2001 to eight percent in 2022.

Wasting or underweight for one’s height in children, if not treated properly and on time, is associated with a higher mortality risk, according to the World Health Organisation.

Likewise, around 10 percent of children under the age of five years in Madhesh Province have been found suffering from wasting.

Nepal also has an international obligation to improve the condition of malnourished children.

The country needs to reduce stunting to 15 percent from the existing 32 percent by 2030 in order to meet the SDG targets, wasting to four percent from the current eight percent, underweight condition to 10 percent from the existing 19, and anaemia to 10 percent from more than 43 percent at present.

“Various measures are being taken to address the improvement of the nutrition status,” said Lila Bikram Thapa, chief of the Nutrition Section at the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services.

“Micronutrient fortification in rice is one among several measures being taken to tackle the existing malnutrition problem. We hope that this measure will be effective.”