and peasant communities in Oruro. He would particularly like to thank the non-governmental organizations Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado (CIPCA) and Emmaus Bolivia, as well as FAO and WFP for assisting in the organization of these visits. 4. The objectives of the mission were to examine the realization of the right to food in relation to Bolivia’s international and national commitments to respect, protect and fulfil the human right to adequate food. Bolivia is the second poorest country in Latin America and has one of the highest levels of child malnutrition and under-nourishment in the continent. However, today Bolivia is in an historic moment of transition under the new Government of Evo Morales, who became Bolivia’s first indigenous President in January 2006. Morales has promised to make the fight against malnutrition and extreme poverty the key focus of his administration. 5. Landlocked in the middle of South America, Bolivia ranges across the high altiplano and the Andes Mountains, to the tropical hills of the Yungas, the expansive forests of the Amazon and the lowland grassy plains of Santa Cruz. Nearly half of Bolivia’s territory is covered by forest, and another third is semi-desert or arid. Its climate faces extreme variations of temperatures in the high altiplano as well as the hot humid temperatures of the Amazon lowlands, and it faces frequent natural disasters, especially droughts and floods. A country of 9.1 million people, the population is predominantly indigenous, with large populations of Quechua (30 per cent) and Aymara (25 per cent), and smaller ethnic groups, as well as mixed descent (30 per cent) and white populations (15 per cent), making Bolivia one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Latin America. Bolivia’s economy has long been dependent on the export of minerals (especially silver and tin) and agricultural commodities (soya beans, sugar, wood) and more recently on natural gas and oil. However, despite the fact that Bolivia is a country rich in mineral resources, including natural gas and oil, and metals including silver, gold, iron, zinc and tin, the vast majority of its people have not benefited from this natural wealth and remain very poor. Millions still struggle to survive as subsistence farmers, agricultural labourers, informal miners and small traders or artisans in the informal sector, on incomes insufficient to meet basic food needs. I. MALNUTRITION AND FOOD INSECURITY IN BOLIVIA A. The current situation of malnutrition and food insecurity in Bolivia 6. Chronic malnutrition affects more than one in four Bolivian children. The highest levels of malnutrition are amongst Bolivians living in rural areas, especially in the high plains of the altiplano regions of Potosi and Chuquisaca, but also in the valleys and tropical lowland departments of Beni and Pando. 7. Malnutrition levels are much higher amongst the poorest families.[1] Children in the poorest households have levels of malnutrition six times that of children born into the richest 20 per cent of households.[2] Families of indigenous Quechua, Aymara, Guaraní and other peoples are far more affected by chronic malnutrition (28 per cent) than non-indigenous children (16 per cent).[3] Many of Bolivia’s minorities, such as the 38,600 afro-bolivianos are also particularly affected by high levels of malnutrition. More than half of Bolivian children suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, particularly of iron, iodine and Vitamin A, and 80 per cent of children between 6 and 23 months suffer from anaemia. Child mortality levels remain high, but regional disparities are severe - a baby born in the richer department of Tarija is three times more likely to live to see its first birthday than a baby born in the poorer department of Oruro.[4] 8. Although Bolivia has vast natural wealth from mineral and energy resources, the majority of the population is still extremely poor. Nearly two thirds of Bolivians live below the national poverty line.[5] Around 35 per cent, mostly indigenous peoples, live in extreme poverty without access to a minimum canasta basica. This means that they cannot afford even the minimum amount of calories every day to sustain a healthy life.[6] Poor families spend a large proportion of their total income on food and have limited access to adequate, sufficiently nutritious food. As a result of changing trade patterns, many have become dependent on cheap, low quality imported noodles, rather than nutritionally rich Bolivian staples such as quinoa (a highly nutritious indigenous grain). Extreme poverty is concentrated amongst indigenous communities (49 per cent), rather than non-indigenous people (24 per cent) and poverty levels are much higher in rural areas. The poorest are mostly subsistence farmers who struggle to survive on small plots of land or as agricultural labourers on pitiful wages. However, there are also high levels of urban poverty, as rapidly increasing rural-urban migration over the last 30 years has pushed millions into the cities, especially to El Alto. 9. The poorest regions are the altiplano and the central and southern valleys, where indigenous populations and campesinos (peasant farmers) are dominant. The poorest departments are Potosi and Chuquisaca, followed by Beni, La Paz and Oruro. More than 60 per cent of the largely indigenous populations of Potosi and Chuquisaca are extremely poor and suffering from hunger, compared to fewer than 25 per cent of people living in Santa Cruz.[7]Santa Cruz and Cochabamba have the lowest levels of poverty, but rural and indigenous people in these areas remain very poor. Overall, the situation of the poor improved during the mid1990s, but started to deteriorate again in 1999 and poverty levels are now back to those of 1990.[8] A sharp increase in inequality since the mid-1990s means that in Bolivia it is now amongst the greatest in the world, similar to levels seen in Brazil.[9] Nine out of ten Bolivians feel that such great inequality is socially unjust, and is the source of rising social conflict.[10] 10. In Bolivia’s Occidente (or west), the poor and hungry are mostly indigenous people, living in rural areas and struggling to survive from small-scale and subsistence farming on the cold, windy plateau of the altiplano. The lands of the altiplano are difficult to cultivate given extremely high altitudes of 3,500-4,000 metres. Agriculture is dependent on uncertain rainfall and relies on crops that can survive the harsh climate. Most people have very small landholdings, barely large enough for subsistence. Landless families in rural areas are even poorer and work as sharecroppers or wage labourers, if they cannot afford to rent land. Most agricultural work is done by hand with little access to machinery even to plough the fields, and there has been little investment in irrigation and other infrastructure that would allow increased production. Highland families grow potatoes, oca(another edible tuber), fava beans and quinoa. Many keep animals such as sheep orllamas, but many of their products are sold rather than eaten, because of the need to generate income. This has resulted in very high levels of malnutrition, especially micronutrient malnutrition, amongst altiplano families