Cebu has less hunger prevalence, says NNC

CEBU, Philippines – Cebu is reportedly better off in preventing incidence of hunger compared to other provinces in the country, said the National Nutritional Council yesterday.

NNC executive director Maria Bernadita Flores said Cebu is not on the list of those identified to be priority places for the government’s hunger mitigation program.

In Central Visayas, where 170,000 families have been identified to be suffering from hunger, only Negros Oriental and Bohol were identified as priority areas for the program.

“Cebu City and Cebu province are progressive. There are still poor families but Cebu is better-off since it has been the forefront of economic development,” Flores said.

NNC also reported that the incidence of Filipinos who experience hunger during the past three months has decreased to 15.5 percent in the first quarter of 2009 from the 23.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008.

“The results are heartening and very uplifting because despite the global financial crisis that we are experiencing, the number of Filipinos who experience involuntary hunger decreased,” Flores said.

She added that the dramatic decline in hunger incidence is proof that the anti-hunger initiatives and programs of government through the Anti-Hunger Task Force are effective and responsive.

NNC said the sharp decline can be attributed to the intensified implementation of anti-hunger projects and programs within the framework of the Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Progran, which focuses on the “most vulnerable and the poor.”

The Arroyo administration has allocated P45 billion for agriculture production to increase food production, P2.5 billion for food for the school program, and P2 billion for emergency skills training and scholarships.

Aside from this, P400 million was allocated for promotion of good nutrition, P300 million for population management, and P12 billion for micro-finance loans.

NNC said that among the practical ways to mitigate hunger are for mothers to breastfeed their children, conserving rice, growing and raising food right at one’s backyard, and practicing a healthy lifestyle. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/JMO  (THE FREEMAN)