Iloilo to consolidate efforts to achieve zero hunger

ILOILO CITY: The provincial government will consolidate its efforts on food security, nutrition, and health under a task force to achieve zero hunger. Iloilo Provincial Health Officer I, Dr. Wendel, said Provincial Administrator Raul Banias committed to creating the task force when he represented Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. during the one-day Zero Hunger Summit last Tuesday. The summit was organized by the provincial government and Zero Hunger Alliance, the biggest network of implementers working on Sustainable Development Goal number 2, Zero Hunger. 'The hunger summit was due to the belief of the alliance that zero hunger could not be achieved alone but with the cooperation of all concerned sectors,' he said. They advocate zero hunger because while the prevalence of malnutrition dropped, there are still children recorded as stunted, wasted, and underweight in the province. He said that as of 2024, cases of underweight dropped to 2.4 percent from 3.47 percent in 2020, 0.94 percent from 2.12 percent in 2 020 for wasting, and 4.52 percent from 8.73 percent for stunting. However, there remain 3,841 underweight children, 1,366 wasted, and 6,559 stunted. 'That is why we continue to advocate to reduce cases and achieve zero hunger so there will be no children and households that will go hungry,' Marcelo said in an interview. The provincial government has already implemented initiatives to include Project Nutrivac: Nutrition and Vaccination Towards a New Normal, benefitting an initial of 50,000 in the first month of its implementation in 2022. Under the project, individuals who availed of the vaccination were also provided NutriVac packs from July to August 2022. Further, 3,375 malnourished children received nutri-buns, and 735 availed the meal supplementation. It also collaborated with the Philippine Multi-sectoral Nutrition Project for towns of Badiangan, Carles, and Dueñas; the National Nutrition Council for the Tutok Kainan Dietary Supplementation Program; and the Core Philippines for the Breaking Barrier s in the First 1000 Days (BBF1KD) in Barangays Bolo and Abay in Maasin town. Source: Philippines News Agency