E/C.12/UGA/CO/1 (a) Malnutrition is widespread, leading to stunting among almost one third of children, and that food insecurity is persistent in northern Uganda and among households headed by women; (b) agriculture; (c) Food production is adversely affected by the limited investment in Support and protection to small-scale farmers is inadequate (art. 11). The Committee recommends that the State party expedite the adoption of the Food and Nutrition Bill and the approval of the National Food and Nutrition Strategy, which would provide the platform and agenda for realizing the right to adequate food of all Ugandans. It should more effectively address malnutrition and food insecurity and target the most marginalized and disadvantaged individuals and groups. Moreover, it should increase investment in agriculture as a means of improving food production, especially by small-scale farmers for their communities, and ensure that foreign investors do not adversely affect the rights of these farmers, including their right to food. The Committee draws the State party’s attention to its general comment No. 12 (1999) on the right to adequate food and to the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, adopted by the FAO Council in 2004. Right to health 32. The Committee is concerned about the decrease in the health budget and at disparities in access to health care by poor individuals and families. It is also concerned that most hospitals are inaccessible to persons with disabilities and lack the necessary medical supplies as well as appropriate accommodation. The Committee is further concerned that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons are frequently denied access to health care and, in particular, that same-sex partners face serious difficulties in accessing HIV/AIDS-related prevention, treatment, care and support services (art. 12). The Committee recommends that the State party include the right to health in its Bill of Rights and in relevant laws, as necessary. It urges the State party to raise progressively the budget allocations to the health sector with a view to reaching the benchmark agreed in the Abuja Declaration on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Related Infectious Diseases. The Committee also recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to provide everyone access to quality health care and take steps to address challenges faced by persons with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons in access to health care, including HIV/AIDSrelated care. Maternal and child mortality rates 33. The Committee is concerned that maternal, infant and under-5 mortality rates remain very high in the State party, and that many of these deaths are preventable, notably among women dying from delivery complications. It is also concerned that implementation of related laws and policies is inadequate (art. 12). The Committee recommends that the State party intensify its efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality rates and, to that end, ensure effective implementation of related laws and policies, reinforce access, especially in rural areas, to sufficiently equipped facilities that provide antenatal, perinatal and postnatal care, and remove any disparity in such access, including on grounds of education or poverty. The Committee also recommends that the State party take into consideration the technical guidance on the application of a human rights-based approach to the implementation 11