Gov’t doing everything to address hunger: Palace

MANILA – The government is exhausting all efforts to address hunger incidence in the country amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, Malacañang said on Friday.

This, after the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), in its Nov. 3 to Dec. 3, 2020 rapid nutrition assessment survey, reported that 62.1 percent of Filipino families have experienced moderate to severe food insecurity.

“Ginagawa po natin ang lahat para maibsan po itong problema ng kagutuman sa panahon ng pandemya (We are doing everything to ease the hunger problem amid the pandemic),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said during the Laging Handa program.

The DOST-FNRI’s survey found that food-insecure families have learned various strategies to deal with hunger.

Around 71.7 percent of Filipino households have purchased food on credit, 66.3 percent have asked for food from relatives or neighbors, 30.2 percent have resorted to barter, and 21.1 percent have limited their food intake in favor of children.

Roque said the government already eased quarantine protocols to allow more Filipinos to return to work for them to earn money while the country is still grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic.

He added that families affected by strict quarantine measures are receiving assistance and food packs from the Department of Social Welfare and Development and local government units.

Roque, however, acknowledged that much more needs to be done to fight hunger.

“Alam po natin na mas marami pa pong dapat gawin (We know that much more needs to be done),” he said. “Naiintindihan po natin talaga na kapag hindi nakapagtrabaho ang mga tao ay talagang ang resulta ay kagutuman (We understand that if that failing to go to work will result in hunger).”

Continued health, quarantine rules

Meantime, Roque said the continued strict health and quarantine measures should be observed in all areas in the country to contain the coronavirus.

The reminder was contained in Resolution 113-A issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Thursday, Roque said.

The IATF-EID, he said, ordered the improved engineering and administrative controls, especially ventilation standards and actions against gatherings in all areas.

“Health promotion and strict enforcement of minimum public health standards in all areas, especially their uniform implementation in high-risk areas, must continue. These areas include the healthcare settings, wet markets, supermarkets, government offices, workplaces, and at home, among others,” Roque said.

He said IATF-EID also directed the localized community quarantine and the ramping up of identified quarantine facilities in priority or critical areas with community transmission.

He added that there must also be an immediate facility-based isolation of all returning Filipino citizens with suspect and probable Covid-19 cases.

Persons exhibiting symptoms and those awaiting test results should also be isolated, Roque said.

“All areas must likewise continue their improved distribution of personal protective equipment and waste management,” he said.

Roque said the IATF-EID also sought continuous health education on Covid-19 transmissions; the scaling up of local health systems capacity, especially for community isolation and critical care; and the submission of complete and accurate data through Covid-Kaya and the DOH DataCollect.