PR
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Monday assured the public that the government would work to continue food programs that target Filipino children even as it grapples with the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to members of the media at the virtual edition of Tapatan sa Aristocrat, Nograles, Chair of the government’s Task Force on Zero Hunger, acknowledged that “the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak compels us to revisit government food security and nutrition programs as we now have to factor in the challenges brought about by this pandemic.”
“We have to look at our programs from top to bottom––from planning to implementation––because we will have to do things differently under current conditions.”
The Palace official revealed that he would be working with the different agencies involved in the government’s Zero Hunger Task Force to retool initiatives such as its feeding programs.
“For example, we may need to re-operationalize the Supplemental Feeding Program in Day Care Centers through the provision of nutritious food packs. Instead of hot meals, day care students can be provided with nutritious food packs which may include vegetable noodles (malunggay/ squash/ carrots), rice, and nutribuns, among others,” explained Nograles.
The said food packs can be distributed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in close coordination with barangay day care centers.
Nograles added that with face-to-face classes now on hold because of the Covid-19 outbreak, government would have to figure out how to safely implement the Department of Education’s (DepEd) School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP), which targets underfed school children.
“With these students now forced to stay home, we will have to get creative and adopt mechanisms so that we can continue to reach out to the program’s beneficiaries. We may need to bring the program to the communities of these students to make it work,” said the cabinet member.
The Davao native said that government should prioritize rations for poor households with children. Nograles said that at present, almost two million malnourished Filipino children benefit from government-sponsored school feeding programs.
“In the distribution of rations, LGUs can prioritize these households through barangay registries or with data from public schools and ensure that these families have adequate and healthy meals for their children,” added Nograles.
According to Nograles, stunting and inadequate nutrition are the focus of National Nutrition Month, which is observed July of each year. The theme for this year is “Batang Pinoy SANA TALL… Iwas stunting, SAMA ALL” and hopes to promote awareness and mobilize actions to address stunting.
Stunting, or “pagkabansot” in Filipino, is the impaired growth and development experienced by children due to poor nutrition, repeated infection and inadequate psychosocial stimulation. Stunting can lead to low educational performance, lost productivity, increased risk of developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and even death. The economic cost of stunting is estimated at 1.5 to 3% of the country’s gross domestic product.
