AdvocacyEVENTSGerald AndersonGretchen HoKim ChiuNestleNestle PhilippinesSen. Grace PoeUnited for Healthier KidsVP Leni Robredo
United for Healthier Kids Advocacy Launches Platform to Inspire Action Against Malnutrition in the Philippines
The world may have come a long way since the
advent of time but we are still afflicted with social ills like hunger and
malnutrition. Just like in the Philippines. Did you know that there is an estimated seven million children who still
suffers from hunger and malnutrition in our country? This bleak picture is out
of sync with the much touted economic growth figures that the government is
crowing about . This social ills stems
from inadequate access to nutritious food, lack of nutrition education, and poor
health and sanitation services.
Hunger and
malnutrition has always been a challenge to our society and in a forum held at
Green Sun in Makati City last January 18, the problem was given importance thru
a forum. The forum which was hosted by the United for Healthier Kids (U4HK)
advocacy led by Nestlé Philippines was graced by no other than Senator
Grace Poe with Director Mario Capanzana of the Food and Nutrition Research
Institute, and Dr. Adela Jamorabo-Ruiz of the Nutritionist-Dieticians
Association of the Philippines. Together, they shed light on the multiple facets
of malnutrition the country is facing right now.
In her keynote speech, Senator Poe stated, “A
generation of Filipino children are already hindered from reaching their full
potential if they are hungry and deprived of the nutrition they need to learn
in school and stay active. We must collectively work together to take care of
our children and ensure that they are able to take advantage of the
opportunities presented to them.” She also enumerated in her speech what her
office is doing to resolve the problem and presented several bills being
deliberated to help ease it. Toward the end of her speech, she likened the
problem with the recent Extra Judicial Killing and said
During the forum that followed, the panellis highlighted the need for
sustained interventions in providing access to food and strengthening nutrition
education among kids, their parents, teachers, and community leaders and pointed
out the need for concerted multi-sectoral efforts to ensure that no Filipino
child goes hungry and that they all get adequate amounts of nutrients.
After the forum the U4HK portal was unveiled.
The U4HK portal will served as a repository site designed to inspire and move young
Filipinos to share, donate or volunteer for programs of non-government
organizations addressing malnutrition in different communities throughout the
Philippines.
Nestlé Philippines Chairman and CEO Jacques
Reber said that, “For the Philippines to combat malnutrition and achieve its
full potential, we need to adopt a more systemic approach to reducing hunger
and malnutrition. We need to bring together organizations with expertise in
various subjects, from access to food, nutrition education, water, sanitation,
and hygiene, to nutrition in disaster. We need to harness the energy and ideas
of young people, who have demonstrated their will and capacity to shape the
Philippines into a country whose people are able to lead prosperous and healthy
lives.”
The U4HK portal will include a malnutrition
heat map that shows the severity of the problem across the Philippines.
Clicking on a particular region will feature the percentage of malnourished
kids in the area, along with the activities that are being done to fight
malnutrition. Housed on the volunteer page would also be a list of initiatives
that the U4HK partners plan to implement over the next couple of months as well
as details on how people can donate, volunteer, or share.
Launched in 2014, U4HK is a multi-sectorial advocacy focused on creating
public awareness to drive action toward addressing malnutrition among
elementary schoolkids.The advocacy tackles
the need to provide these children with adequate access to nutritious
food, nutrition education, nutrition in distaster, safe drinking water and
sanitation, and proper hygiene.
Nestle’s brand ambassadors such as Gerald
Anderson, Kim Chiu, Gretchen Ho and other famous celebrities were on hand
during the event to help spur the youth and the audinece present on the
challenge of malnution. They also share some insights by immersing themselves
by consuming meals that are most common with Filipino families suffering from
hunger and malnutriton. Guests of the events including the management of Nestle
Philippines and Sentaor Poe partake of the dishes like the boiled Saba, watery
Lugaw and the Giniling na Mais.
The event was capped
with a video message from Vice-President Leni Robredo, who shared her
confidence on what the country can achieve if all sectors of society work
together to address malnutrition.
To learn more about U4HK and its partners, visit
www.u4hk.ph/hangryabouthunger
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