Gov’t to use ICT tools to combat hunger amid pandemic —Nograles

The government will use information and communications technology (ICT) tools in efforts to combat hunger after a survey found that some 4.2 million Filipinos experienced involuntary hunger amid the coronavirus pandemic, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Sunday.

Nograles said the Supply Chain Analytics (SCAN) dashboard and other similar tools being used by the government against COVID-19 may also be used by bodies such as the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger.

SCAN helps the government identify issues in the supply chain caused by the quarantine measures imposed to curb coronavirus transmissions, the Palace official explained.

"From day one of the COVID-19 outbreak, food security has been one of the top concerns of the government. This is why we repeatedly emphasized the need for unhampered movement of cargo," Nograles said.

He added that the government "recognizes that while we deal with this public health crisis and even after it passes, we will need to find ways to ensure that produce from our farms reaches consumers efficiently as this impacts food supplies and prices."

A mobile survey by the Social Weather Stations found that hunger doubled to 16.7 percent in May 2020 from 8.8 percent in December 2019 amid the COVID-19 crisis. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/739274/sws-4-2-million-families-experienced-involuntary-hunger-amid-covid-19-crisis/story/

The study also found that 99 percent of Filipinos received some form of food aid, most commonly from the government.

"If there are families that are still experiencing hunger despite the assistance being extended by government and other institutions, kailangan natin matumbok ang dahilan para agad ito matugunan,” Nograles said. — DVM, GMA News