Financial crisis deepening hunger worldwide

MANILA, Philippines – Many children in the Philippines, especially in Mindanao, go to school hungry, according to the United Nations.

Stephen Anderson, UN World Food Program (WFP) Philippines country director, said hunger is on the rise worldwide and in the Philippines.

“The rice crisis last year, the ongoing conflict in Mindanao and now the financial downturn globally have an impact certainly in the Philippines,” he said. “These have unfortunately increased the number of needy people.”

Speaking to The STAR on the sidelines of the seventh “End Hunger, Walk the World” event in the Rajah Sulayman Park in Malate, Manila yesterday, Anderson said a child dies every five seconds due to hunger worldwide.

An estimated 59 million children worldwide go to school hungry, he added.

Anderson said the Philippines with the UN’s help is trying to address child hunger in the country.

“In the Philippines I don’t have the exact information but I think it’s very high and we’re focusing our efforts really to try to assist children living in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao,” he said.

Anderson said since 2006, the WFP has provided support to some 200,000 children in Mindanao through meals in schools and take-home family rations.

“The program that we are jointly implementing with the DSWD is having a tremendous impact,” he said.

“We have seen an increase of 40 percent in terms of attendance in school and we’ve seen that dropouts have been practically eliminated.”

The “Walk the World” is an annual global awareness and fundraising event launched simultaneously in 24 time zones within 24 hours in 77 countries to increase awareness and support to end child hunger.

Representatives from the public and private sector joined yesterday thousands of people around the world in a walk aimed at raising awareness and money to feed hungry Filipino school children.

Walk the World was initiated by TNT Express in 2003 when its employees in Asia walked the Great Wall of China to raise awareness for child hunger and to raise funds to support WFP School Feeding projects.

In the Philippines, the WFP works with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and some private sectors to address this issue of child hunger.

A recent survey by the Social Weather Stations found that hunger is highest in Mindanao, with an estimated 1.4 million families or 33.7 percent experiencing involuntary hunger at least once. — Helen Flores, Philippine Star