In addition to the rising access to unhealthy food, the 2015 National Nutrition Survey showed poor dietary diversity among young children, with only 18 per cent of those aged 6–23 months meeting minimum standards.

On September 10, the Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay of the Royal Government of Bhutan launched Nourishing Bhutan – Framework for Action, a national roadmap to ensure every child grows up healthy and strong. The launch, done together with the Ministry of Health and UNICEF in Bhutan,  coincides with UNICEF’s new global child nutrition report, which finds that overweight and obesity are rising fast among children, including in Bhutan.

“Our future is about our children. If they are undernourished or robbed of their potential before they even turn five, all our national efforts will be for nothing,” the Prime Minister said. “Nutrition has always been a priority of the Government. Nourishing Bhutan – Framework for Action is not just another policy document, it is a bold roadmap to ensure every child grows up healthy, strong, and proud to be Bhutanese.”

The new UNICEF report Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children reveals that the number of children in Bhutan aged 5–19 years living with overweight and obesity has tripled in the past two decades, rising from 6 per cent in 2000 to 18 per cent in 2022. Girls are the most affected. At the same time, anaemia continues to impact nearly half of children under five and more than a third of adolescent girls. Undernutrition – stunting, wasting and underweight – also remains a challenge in some communities. Together, this triple burden of malnutrition – undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and overweight – threatens children’s health, learning and future.

The report also includes findings from a 2023 UNICEF survey among young people aged 13-24 years, which shows that children and families in Bhutan are growing up in an environment saturated with cheap, ultra-processed foods, making healthier options harder to afford. Widespread consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks, salty snacks, and fast food is common, with many adolescents noting that marketing influences their food choices both inside and outside schools.

Self-esteem, Even Bullying

In addition to the rising access to unhealthy food, the 2015 National Nutrition Survey showed poor dietary diversity among young children, with only 18 per cent of those aged 6–23 months meeting minimum standards. Most relied heavily on rice and other starchy staples, with very little intake of vegetables, fruits, meat or fish needed for healthy growth and development.

Bhutan has made strong progress. Stunting among children under five has nearly halved in the past decade, falling to almost 18 per cent in 2023. More than half of children under five are free from undernutrition, while 90,000 students benefit from government-supported fortified school meals. The government has strengthened feeding programmes, introduced a ‘one child one egg’ policy, expanded iron and folic acid supplements, and updated its national food and nutrition policy to drive food system transformation.

“Too many children in Bhutan are growing up surrounded by unhealthy food that harms their bodies and their confidence. Rising obesity and overweight do not just increase the risk of diabetes or high blood pressure, they also leave children struggling with self-esteem and even bullying,” said Rushnan Murtaza, UNICEF Representative in Bhutan. “Every child deserves good nutrition so they can grow, learn and thrive. This Framework for Action is Bhutan’s promise to give children the healthy future they deserve.”

According to UNICEF, to sustain progress, Bhutan must:

• Invest more in children’s nutrition to ensure affordable and nutritious meals in schools and communities.
• Enforce stronger laws to curb the marketing of unhealthy foods.
• Promote the use of data and evidence to monitor nutrition risks and inform policies and programmes.
• Harness innovation and technology, including digital tools and AI, to monitor, prevent and treat malnutrition while promoting dietary diversity.
• Strengthen collaboration across ministries, UN agencies, the private sector, communities, and young people to combat malnutrition.