Senator Grace Poe prodded the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger to heighten ongoing efforts to ensure that Filipino children do not continue to suffer from the scourge of hunger and malnutrition amid the pandemic.
Poe stressed that the country needs a focused, community-based approach in addressing the problem of malnutrition in Filipino children, led and backed by the whole of government.
“Hunger is a reality in this pandemic and children in poorer families are worse off.”
“Hunger is a reality in this pandemic and children in poorer families are worse off. With the soaring prices of pork, chicken and fish, malnutrition in children is a certainty unless we work now to stave it off,” the veteran legislator said.
In a study released recently, the World Bank said that acute malnutrition or wasting among Filipino children is already happening and the toll it takes on their young bodies will only be seen in the next few years.
“Kapakanan ng tao ang dapat laging pangunahing layunin ng pamahalaan, lalo na ang pagkalinga sa ating mga musmos para di sila mapag-iwanan,” the seasoned lawmaker reminded.
Challenges in the distribution of cash subsidies and the lack of adequate sources of livelihood at the height of the lockdown last year affected the most vulnerable population, especially poor children.
“Amid the government vowing to keep the economy afloat and make it rebound, there hasn’t been enough attention on the impact of the pandemic on poor children and their nutrition,” the lady senator noted.
“4 out of 10 children in poor households are stunted.”
The World Bank study said poverty is one of the most important causes of undernutrition and that four out of 10 children in poor households are stunted.
“Children in poor families need all the help we all can give. Attending their nutrition and growth must be our collaborative commitment,” Poe, author of the Masustansiyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act, said.
