- Monday, 22 June 2026
Baglung, June 22: All wards of Badigad rural municipality in Baglung district have been declared nutrition-friendly, placing the rural municipality in the final stage of becoming country’s first nutrition-friendly local government.
According to Bishnu Prasad Chaube, National Nutrition and Child-Friendly Governance Trainer, only Badigad Rural Municipality in Baglung and Kaligandaki Rural Municipality in Syangja have reached this stage after declaring all wards nutrition-friendly.
The rural municipality that completes the final declaration first will earn the national distinction.
Going by the statistics, currently Baglung’s Badigad rural municipality and Syangja district’s Kaligandaki rural municipality are in fray to be declared the first nutrition-friendly local levels as these local levels fulfill all 34 indicators required under the national framework to achieve the status.
Gandaki Thapa Adhikari, Chairperson of Badigad rural municipality, said the achievement follows a three-year campaign implemented with support from the federal government.
According to her, Darling in ward no, became the first ward to receive the status on June 11 while all other wards were declared nutrition-friendly as of June 19 after meeting all criteria.
The Badigad rural municipality has been implementing the Nutrition-Friendly Local Governance Programme in fiscal year 2079/80 BS which requires local levels to deploy facilitators in every ward, impart training on nutrition, promote kitchen gardens, improved kitchens and livestock sheds and the promote use of indigenous crops.
Furthermore, schools here have banned junk food and introduced nutritious snacks such as sattu,(roasted flour), millet pudding, porridge, chickpeas and eggs. Health facilities have also begun providing eggs to children attending growth-monitoring services, informed Bhim Kumari Buda Magar of the Primary Healthcare Centre at Darling.
Magar informed that all 69 settlements and all health institutions in the rural municipality have achieved required sanitation and nutrition standards under the Nutrition-Friendly Local Governance Implementation Procedure-2023.
