WFP to undertake $73.5-M food, nutrition projects in Mindanao

• Source: http://mb.com.ph/wfp-to-undertake-73-5-m-food-nutrition-projects-in-mindanao/
• Sunday, August 2, 2015

By Ali G. Macabalang

Cotabato City – The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) is set to undertake extensive food and nutrition security interventions in the amount of $73.5 million (or P3.3 billion) in the Philippines, principally in four Mindanao provinces including Maguindanao, according to WFP Country Director Praveen Agrawal.

Agrawal made the announcement after he and his technical staff visited Buluan, the new capital town of Maguindanao, to grace the culmination of the province’s celebration of the Nutrition Month last Thursday.

Under the US$73.5-million package, three projects have been approved for Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte and Sultan Kudarat provinces for implementation this year, he said.

“Food and nutrition security cannot be solved overnight so we need to invest, invest and invest in the future of our children,” Agrawal told reporters.

The WFP intervention “should not and cannot be considered social costs or expenditures (but) a total social investment,” he said, adding that “for every peso invested in nutrition, you will get 16 pesos back (in impacts).”

Agrawal held an executive meeting with Governor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu and his technical staff to map out immediate and long-term measures to address nutrition deficiencies of children who are underweight and experience stunted growth, as well as obesity among adults in Maguindanao.

Maguindanao belongs to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which Agrawal said ranks second to Bicol region in terms of malnutrition average rate.

Agrawal said in his speech in Buluan that there was “a need to empower the mothers to ensure that their children and other household members consume military foods and drinks.”

Mangudadatu said they would tap the parents-teachers associations (PTAs) in Maguindanao’s schools in the campaign for nutrition enhancement, starting with the setting up of makeshift kitchens in campuses to cook nutrient-rich foods for school-children.

Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/wfp-to-undertake-73-5-m-food-nutrition-projects-in-mindanao/#XFKYyX4Xzyi1izsu.99