Gov't, private sectors launch holistic feeding initiative to solve hunger problem in the Philippines

Government and non-government agencies have teamed up to launch a holistic feeding initiative to solve the hunger and malnutrition problem in the country.

Pilipinas Kontra Gutom, a collaboration between the private sectors and Task Force Zero Hunger, launched Kain Tayo Pilipinas, a program that aims to not only feed children but also educate their parents and focus on the children's first 1,000 days.

According to Kain Tayo Pilipinas, one out of three children under five years old or around 3.2 million children are malnourished.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Kain Tayo Pilipinas lead Kristine Go said the root cause of malnutrition is the lack of education and access to nutritious food.

Go said children usually go back to households that cannot feed them even after going to a feeding campaign.

"Filipino families don’t know the right nutrition to eat every day," Go said in Filipino.

She said that a lot of breadwinners' income is not enough to feed the family and estimated that each member only has P15 per meal, based on recent studies.

"After four months [of the feeding program], they go back to being malnourished. We go to the same kids after a year," Go said.

With the new program, it "incorporates education, and not just feeding." It reaches out to mothers and unifies the private, public, and government sectors.

The Kain Tayo Pilipinas lead added that using the education model, they will hold nutrition programs that teach mothers how to take care of themselves while pregnant and create nutritious meal plans even worth P15 per meal for their children.

"You immediately reach three kids if you reach mothers," Go said.

Using the new program, Go said that they were able to stretch the budget five times more, and were able to improve 2.5 times more children compared to the usual feeding program.

The program has also identified 49 hotspots nationwide, 22 of which already have programs while 27 still do not.

Go said that they aim to have zero malnourished children by 2030.

"We start slow given quarantine... but we are on the cusp of creating a malnutrition-free Philippines," she said.

For donations or inquiries, visit kaintayopilipinas.com.

—MGP, GMA News